LONDON — They were the “It” bags of their day, carried by the beau monde ladies of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries to set off their outfits and fashioned in every material from intricately cut ivory to feathers and mother-of-pearl. Some were even studded with rubies or steel beads.
Clearly, fans weren’t just for cooling down.
Now, the Royal Collection has unveiled 82 fans in the exhibition “Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection,” at the Queen’s Gallery, next to Buckingham Palace here. The exhibit shows that British monarchs, from George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, to Queen Victoria, were adherents of the trend, which began in earnest in the 16th century when folding fans began to arrive in Europe from the Far East.
“Any lady of gentle birth would have had quantities of fans in her wardrobe,” said Lady Jane Roberts, curator of the show, which runs through Feb. 11. “The 400 fans which remain in the Royal Collection are just a fraction of what the royal women would have worn.”
Indeed, there was a fan to mark every occasion of royal life, from the Belgian lace and mother-of-pearl style Queen Charlotte wore at her children’s christenings to the cream silk one printed with delicate pink lilies of the valley that was a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria on her 39th birthday. There is even a somber black silk and lace fan on display, which Victoria is said to have held on her deathbed in 1901.
According to Roberts, the mere act of holding a fan allowed royal women to display an attractive flash of the wrist to its full advantage. “Queen Charlotte wasn’t necessarily terribly beautiful, but she was said to have a beautiful wrist,” said Roberts, pointing to a print of a 1781 Thomas Gainsborough portrait of a regal Queen Charlotte nonchalantly holding a fan.
However, Roberts is certain royal ladies would not have taken advantage of the language of the fan. In the past, there were coded messages the more coquettish could convey with the twist or turn of a fan’s leaf. The signals included such frank messages (at least for the period) as “Do you love me?” and “Kiss me.”
Related Articles
You May Also Like
The fans in the exhibition chart the dictates of fashion. The smaller, 18th-century designs are illustrated with detailed scenes of classical myths or commemorate events such as George III and his family’s first visit to the Royal Academy of Arts. But it’s the fans from the 19th and 20th centuries that provide the statement pieces: A huge ostrich feather fan that belonged to Queen Alexandra, its front guard studded with diamonds, takes center stage, as does another of Alexandra’s styles, a silk and mother-of-pearl Fabergé fan, a gift from her Russian sister in 1904.
“They were almost like jewelry,” said Roberts. “When they were closed, it was like carrying a beautiful brooch.”
Among all the finery are some simple pieces that show a less ceremonial side of the royal family, including a small wooden fan, presented to Alexandra, who was then Princess of Wales, on her birthday in 1871. It was decorated simply with photographs of her five children.
“Fans could just be a keepsake, too,” said Roberts.