In Europe, folding fans were certainly in use by the middle of the sixteenth century. They were probably introduced by the Portuguese and Venetians who already had well-established trade links with the Far East. Europe’s major cities were quick to establish fan making industries and, within a relatively short period, folding fans became indispensable costume accessories. By the dawn of the Eighteenth Century, the use of folding fans was widespread and a golden age of craftsmanship ensued. Folding fans retained their status throughout much of the century, only declining in quality and popularity with the advent of the French Revolution which swept away the traditions of the aristocracy along with the market for top-quality fans. It's not until the second half of the 19th Century that folding fans fully return to fashion. Prominent figures such as Eugenie, Empress of the French and Queen Victoria favoured M. Alexandre, a fan maker of exceptional talent.The eventual decline begins after the Great War and can be party attributed to social and cultural shifts. Casting aside the shackles of the Victorian era costume underwent a radical transformation. Over a period spanning three centuries fans had come to symbolise a form of femininity perhaps at odds with the modern woman emerging from this transformative period in history.
• To learn more about the development of folding fans in the West, press A. • To hear the Museum’s Curator discuss the so-called language of folding fans, press B.