folding fan, unknown maker from China

Using folding fans as decorative objects and handheld accessories is a behavior that spans continents and centuries. Folding fans were an essential fashion accessory for European women in the 18th and 19th centuries. Women used these fans to cool themselves and to communicate non-verbal messages in social situations. White goose and peacock feathers decorate this folding fan located in the Cabinet of Curiosities in the exhibition Empire of Things. Peacock embellishments were widely appealing to European and American collectors and artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their popularity likely suited the period’s extravagant displays, as exemplified by James McNeill Whistler’s creation of the acclaimed Peacock Room for the English shipping magnate Frederick Leyland. Tap the Web icon to learn more about the Peacock Room now in the Freer Gallery. Tap the Audio icon and click on a link to hear a Lawrence Southwest Middle School student’s perspective.