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Antique vellum fan with pierced carvings, painted bird and wonderful Nouveau whiplash frame. Made in Java / Dutch Indonesia and probably over 100 years old. <P><P>
Total length is 12 inches. <P><P>
Carved and openwork handle , forks into two elaborately swirling guards, tapering towards the ends. The fan is of the handscreen variety, with a
rounded pear shape. It is made of buffalo hide, transluscent in the solid parts, and futher carved and pierced in a tiny pattern of stylised flowers near the
bottom and a peacock tail fan with concentric circles of solid hearts, outlines in black ink. The painted bird in the center is probably a peacock (according
to the feathers), but looks somewhat like a vulture.<P>
The tiny piercings are amazing in their regularity and show the technical skill of the craftsman who made the fan.<P><P>
Condition: amazingly, the fan is not torn anywhere. The paint on the bird is rubbed in parts. The frame, which is very thin and delicate as it tapers, has
snapped on the whiplash bend in two places.(there are 4 'guards - two in front and two on the back). This would be a fairly minor matter to restore. Of note:
the fan has not been stored properly in the past and should be flattened by placing it flat with a weight on it. |
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