19th Century Fans
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of approximately 125 nineteenth-century fans dating from 1800 to 1900, including a few accompanied by their fan boxes. Of particular interest are Chinese export fans, including a high end Hundred Faces fan and a number of painted feather fans still in extremely good condition.
During the 1800s fans continued to be a fashionable accessory for a well-dressed European woman to have. Fans ranged from luxury objects made from expensive materials, such as ivory and silk, some even with jewelled guards to mass-produced fans made from bone or wood, many with printed paper leaves. The majority were folding fans made with pleated paper leaves attached to sticks with long guards at either end. Many fans were made from natural materials that are now protected, such as ivory and tortoiseshell, while a growing number were trimmed with or had feather leaves. As well as European-made fans, there were fashions for imported Asian fans, including ivory brisé fans during the early 1800s and colourful painted feather and Hundred Faces fans popular during the 1830s–60s from China. There were also fans that were made for use during specific occasions, such as at weddings and during mourning.
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