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Historical Background: The discovery of the fan to move air, smoke and cool the air predates recorded history. Consequently, one can only guess as to how the fanning function was first observed. One reasonable assumption is that our primitive ancestors reacted to bothersome insects by swatting at them with their hands, a tree branch or the broad leaf of a plant. If this were the reason for discovery, our swatting ancestors would very likely have felt a cooling sensation in the air.

And if they were to have battled their insects around a smoking fire, they would have actually seen the air move. How a tree branch or broad leaf evolved into the invention of a manmade fan is easy to imagine when one considers that primitive Indians of the Amazon River basin have used hand screens of woven grass (called "fronds") to fan their fires when making flour.

Fans have evolved beyond practical use to acquire ceremonial significance. More than three thousand years ago, fans were made with bird feathers and designed to be an important characteristic of imperial pomp. Feathered fans also lent wonderful gracefulness and charm to court dancers who appeared to be heavenly phoenixes.

Through the ages, various cultures have used fans for theatrical performances, social functions, religious ceremonies, utilitarian purposes, and even in military warfare! In recent times, fans have become highly collectible items for their beauty and remain interesting mementos of the past.

The word "fan" comes from "vannis," the Latin name for a tool used to winnow grain. According to pictorial records (discovered thus far, that is), the earliest use of fans was around 3000 BC. Evidence has survived to tell us fans were used as cooling and ceremonial devices in the Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultures. Ancient Chinese literature tells us fans were associated with historical and mythical figures.

Ancient Egypt. Egyptian tomb paintings and shallow-relief carvings depict fans being a
used in the courts of nobility and during religious ceremonies. The tomb of Mereruka at Sakkarah displays a royal 12th-dynasty procession "with nobles carrying tall standard fan-decorated handles surmounted by feathers or other materials." Another example is the set of gold-handled ostrich fans found in King Tutankhamun's tomb (1926) by Howard Carter.

Art created in Assyria (1350-612 BC) depict fly whisks with short, carved, wooded handles and a brush made from either animal hair or plant fibers. Later, larger fly whisks using feathers are shown in base-relief panels from Nimrud (745-727 BC) and from Nineveh (681-705 BC). These cultures also used fans for religious ceremonies and events. Some fans were gilded with bronze and emblazoned with symbolic or heraldic devices.

The Bible. The Old Testament mentions fans as well. Two references to fans are my Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to one scholar:
Isaiah speaks of the oxen and young asses that shall eat clean provender which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.

When Jeremiah laments the failures of Jerusalem, he says:
I am weary with repenting; and I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land;

and again,

Send unto Babylon fanners that shall fan her, and shall empty her land.

India & Southeast Asia. Long-handled feather fans were used in India to circulate the air and dissipate offensive odors. The Shinláung were members of a monastic novitiate in Burma who used palm-leaf fans as sun screens and to screen them from the sight of women by moving the fan from side to side as a woman passed.

Ancient migration. The use of the fan as a shield and a standard spread from Egypt to Greece and then Rome. Early Greek fans were often made of myrtle, acacia, the triple leaves of plantain tree and lotus leaves. Depictions of single-leaf, heart-shaped fans appear on Greek terra-cotta and in Tanagra-figure statues. Circular fans made with peacock feathers date back to the 5th century BC and is the type of fan usually mentioned in ancient Greek literature.

Roman Empire. The muscarium ("fly traps") was another peacock-feathered fan commonly used by slaves to protect their Roman master or mistress from insects while sleeping. This type of fan was also used by a servant (called a "labellifer") to protect officials and guests from insects during meals. Because the Roman Empire was so vast, Romans had many types of fans. Yak tails were imported from Asia and India along with small, hand-size fans made from exotic woods or finely crafted ivory. These fans were either square or circular in shape.

China. Asian and Chinese fans have been used for over 2,000 years. A pair of 2nd century BC, woven, side-mounted fans were recovered at the Ma-wang-tu tomb in China's Hunan province. Using fans as hand screens began long before this time. Hand screens were made using pheasant or peacock feathers until economical silk and silk tapestry replaced them. Both men and women used fans in China. The exact type of fan used was dictated by strict rules and the owner's position in society. The appropriateness of a fan's style was also determined by the seasons or time of year.

Along with the agricultural progress made during the Han (206 BC - 220 AD) and Tang (618 - 907 AD) Dynasties, an ample supply of clothing material resulted. Silk and satin fans became fashionable among scholars and artists who "showed their genius" by writing and painting on fan surfaces. These fans soon acquired considerable social significance and became a part of the standard summer costume among society's elite and learned.

Eventually, fan painting gained popularity and importance as an established branch of Chinese art during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). Fans painted by respected artists were valued equally with paintings on scrolls. A great variety of fans have been produced in China. Sandalwood, ivory, jade, silver, and even gold have been used as materials. Palm fans were made in the Jin Dynasty (265 - 420 AD) and were widely used by the general Chinese population because they were as affordable as they were useful.

A sandalwood fan is of particular interest because its outstanding feature is the pleasing fragrance of the wood. Even in modern air-conditioned rooms, a sandalwood fan will enhance the elegance and femininity of the lady using it. Sandalwood emits a subtle fragrant odor that is as refreshing and enchanting as any expensive perfume.

During the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), one particular flat fan became very popular. It was called the "happiness fan," the "palace fan," or the "round fan" because it was round shaped with a fan handle as its middle axis. The round fan was shaped by bamboo to be symmetrical and was covered by fine silk. The best round fan was made with Shandong silk and Hunan bamboo. Ultimately, the round fan became the traditional fan of choice in China. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912 AD) it evolved to oval, square, mayflower, sunflower, seed, kidney, and hoof-shaped fans but was still characterized by light, artful symmetry.

The folding fan in China finally came into fashion during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD). Hangzhou was a center of folding fan production. The Mai Ogi was a Chinese dancing fan that spawned a genre of performing arts with hand fans -- including burlesque!

Japan. Fans did not appear in Japan until the 6th century according to a burial mound on the island of Kyushu. This tomb contains a wall painting depicting a human figure flanked by two upright poles topped with large oval shapes drawn with radiating lines.

Japan is generally credited with inventing the folding fan. This important innovation was superior to rigid screen fans because the fan could become smaller and were easier to handle for everyday use. The folding fan could possibly have been derived from "mokkan" -- thin, small slices of wood used for writing. About two dozen mokkan could be joined at one end. When the sticks are spread apart, they form the ribs of an open fan. By the 10th century folding paper fans (called "ogi") were not only in use throughout Japan, they had traveled to China by way of Korea. The oldest surviving Japanese pleated fan is from the 12 century.

The fan in Japan symbolizes friendship, respect and good wishes. It is a gift that is given to people on special occasions and it is an important stage prop for Japanese dance performances. Fans were also used by the Japanese military to send signals on the field of battle. However, fans were mostly used in social and court functions. Symbolically, the fan stands for many things. The Japanese believe that the handle of the fan symbolizes the beginning of life and the radiating ribs represent the many paths of life one can take in all directions.

Europe. From Asia the folding fan continued to travel west and into Europe. The oldest surviving Western fan is located in the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Monza, Italy. This ceremonial fan (called "flabellum") was presented to the church by Theoldalinda, 6th-century Queen of the Lombards. A 9th-century flabellum from the abbey church of Tournus on the Saône, France is in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. Both fans have folding vellum strips that unfold for form cockades attached to cylindrical handles of elaborately carved bone. The handles also form boxes to protect the leaves when the fan is closed.

From the 6th century to the 19th century, Christian ritual fans were used in the eastern region of the Mediterranean. According to Apostolic constitutions two deacons, each holding a rigid flag-type fan on a long stick, officiated on each side of the alter before and after the prayers of consecration to keep away marauding flies. The insects were considered representatives of evil and the fan breeze was associated with the Holy Spirit, which sacred symbolism excluded flagella use outside church ritual. In England, fans were listed in inventories of churches (1214, 1298 and 1495 AD). One church warden lists "a bessume of pekoks fethers." It has been suggested that the introduction of the bell to ward off insects (evil) may have been responsible for discontinued role of the fan in Christian churches.

The popularity of the fan in Europe was spread by Catherine de Mici (1519 - 1589 AD), whose dowry included fans when she married Henry II of France. Sixteenth-century European fans were mainly hand screens, feathers of diverse colors and species (frequently ostrich), set in leather at the base of the plume and attached to handles, usually of precious metal encrusted with jewels. Queen Elizabeth I possessed many such fans.

The folding fan, made initially in Italy, then in France, England and Holland, quickly became more popular than the rigid hand screen due to its novelty and convenience. The painted leaves usually depicted mythological scenes and the fan sticks were simple and unadorned, unlike the handles of the hand screens.

Records from the end of the 17th century show an enormous quantity of goods, such as tea, textiles, porcelain, lacquer work, fans and fan sticks, imported from the East. According to the East India Company Letter Book, 2,000 fans made of the finest and richest lacquer sticks could be bought in Canton and Amoy in 1699. The fans exported from China to Europe, however, were made for European tastes and were unlike fans used in China.

The practical purpose of fans in England since the 17th century has been to regulate ambient air temperature by providing a means of self-cooling. This facility was soon found useful to hide or temper blushes. Fans also were used to shield the eyes from the sun's glare and prevent an unfashionable tanning of the skin outdoors, or prevent the ruddy complexion arising from too vigorous a fire indoors (which lead to the development of the hand-held fire screen).

Eighteenth-century Georgian fans often represented the most exquisite "objets d'art" which were the perfect gift for a lady in an era which cultivated good taste, and connoisseurship of the hand-crafted object. Fans also had a particular place in the traditions of masquerade developed across Europe in this century, masking the faces of their owners, as part of an elaborate ritual of flirtation.

Smaller, delicate ivory and tortoiseshell fans graced the Regency Period. By 1865, fans were an indispensable fashion accessory for the emergent middle class; some of the grander fans were clearly for pageantry; more modest fans displayed the perceived delights of the Industrial Age -- vibrant aniline dye colors, machine lace, gaudy prints and painted leaves.

Reaching its peak in popularity by the late-17th century and most of the 18th century, the fan gained importance as an indispensable accouterment of fashionable dress, and for its unsurpassed artistic and crafted excellence. The well-dressed woman possessed a fan for every occasion and was obligated to handle it properly.

It has been said that fans were used in the courts of England, Spain and elsewhere in a more or less secret, unspoken code of messages. These fan languages were a way to cope with the restricting social etiquette. Modern research has proved, however, that this was a marketing ploy developed in the 18th century -- one that has kept its appeal remarkably over the succeeding centuries.

Charles Francis Badini put together Fanology or Ladies' Conservation Fans and it was published by William Cock in 1797. This "code of fan gestures" developed from ladies sending signals to gentlemen when silence was the norm, but communication was imperative! Here are some examples of fan-coded messages:

resting the fan on the right cheek means "yes";
drawing the fan across the eyes means "I am sorry"; and,
drawing the fan across the check means "I love you."

The language of fans was a marketing strategy promoted by fan manufacturers such as Duvelleroy of London who produced a series of advertisements in the 1960s showing "the language of the fan" with models displaying antique fans with this "language."

The folding leaves of the fans in this period were of thin kid-like leather (painstakingly manufactured from animal skins (calf, sheep, goat and pig) and of silk, lace or paper, and were hand painted or engraved and hand colored. The sticks and guards were of ivory, bone, mother of pearl, tortoiseshell, lacquered wood, skillfully shaped, carved, painted, pierced, inlaid, gilded and silvered in various combinations.

The design and size of fans changed with fashion, reflecting current tastes in art, literature, architecture and costume. During the early part of this period, a story-telling mythological or biblical scene was usually depicted on the leaf. Attempting to compete with the influx of authentic imports, fans imitated Chinese versions with fanciful figures, pagodas, gardens, and other oriental motifs which centered to the craze for exotic Chinoiserie design.

In the mid-18th century, fan leaves were designed with medallions showing idealized pastoral, romantic, commemorative and domestic scenes. At the end of the 18th century, designs of classical nature were popular -- especially scenes of Italian ruins with Greek decorative motifs, valued as souvenirs of the "Grand Tour." Inexpensive printed fans for the middle class frequently served as conversation pieces, offering political topics, games, riddles, calendars, maps, dance steps, and so on.

The "brisé fan," a folding fan on which the sticks widen from the base, at the rivet, to the top of the fan where they are connected by ribbon, became fashionable briefly at the beginning and again at the end of the 18th century. The brisé fan has no leaf, all the painting appeared on the sticks which are ivory, bone, horn and lacquered wood, sometimes decoratively pierced.

During the early part of the 19th century, the use of fans waned. Fans of this era, in difference to the current fashion silhouette of sheer white muslin gowns, were small, in the Grecian style, and trimmed with spangle and embroidery designs rather than painted. This style changed, however, when the Duchess de Berry gave an elaborate ball in 1829, to which guests were required to wear Louis XV costumes, a challenge that sent them scouring Paris for elaborate antique fans. Their scarcity instigated a new industry specializing in 18th-century fan reproductions.

With the advent of large hoop skirts, the size of fans in the 1860s grew proportionately. Romantic and retrospective subjects appeared on lithographed leaves, accented with very ornate sticks.

During the "Belle Époque," fashion came to reflect the present rather than the past, depicting contemporary scenes and influences of Japanese art. Even impressionist painters (like Degas, Gaugin, Pissaro and Monet) painted fans, intrigued with the challenge of the leaf shape.

Motifs of sinuous, naturalistic designs were considered chic and new. Fans were beautifully made of tinted mother-of-pearl, synthetic horn and tortoiseshell, and exotic woods. Flamboyant feather fans were fashionable as were sequined and hand-painted fans. For the first time Western fans were being signed by the artists. Duvelleroy of London and Alexandre of Paris were fan merchants who made elegant fans to be worn with ball gowns.

After the First World War, women's values and lifestyles changed radically and beautiful fans were no longer a necessity for the well-dressed woman. By then fans were only carried to keep cool before the introduction of air-conditioning. Then the age of consumerism and advertising arrived. Restaurants, hotels, department stores, cognac and champagne makers, funeral homes, patent medicine manufacturers, perfume companies, and a host of others seized upon the opportunity to advertise on inexpensive paper fans. Bright fan leaves were skillfully designed by artists to be appealing and offer interesting commentary on post-war life.

Today, collecting fans is a fascinating pursuit. A favorite hobby early in the 20th century, it faded in popularity for decades. Later, fan collecting was revived and is still going strong. Museums worldwide now mount exhibitions of fans and excellent books on fans are again being published after a hiatus of nearly 60 years. Demand and prices for antique fans at auctions have drastically increased almost every year!

In conclusion, few art forms combine function, decorative art, communication, performing dance, and ceremonial purpose as elegantly as the fan. Our Traditional Hand Fan (7001) is a brisé fan made of fragrant sandalwood and decoratively pierced and has a red tassel. It is ideal for demonstrating refined etiquette, practicing the "language of fans," or just cooling yourself off. Since it is lightweight, it can be conveniently carried in a purse or pocket. Its low cost makes affordable to the child who wants to give a "serious" make-believe tea party for her friends or dolls.

Fun Fact: Chinese painted hand fans were used to shield the face to avoid endless greeting rituals.

Fun Fact: Fans were used during the Chon Dynasty (1106 BC) to fan dust from wheels of chariots -- presumably to keep it from being blown into the eyes of the drivers.

Fun Fact: Fan painting were signed with both seals of the artists and the owners. The painting was frequently removed from the fan sticks and mounted in albums.

Fun Fact: Inventors started designing mechanical fans in the mid-1700s. By the end of this century, wind-up fans (similar to wind-up clocks) were a popular item for those who could afford them.

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