Enamelling has been practised in western Asia from a very early period, i.e. previous to the Christian era, and is believed to have reached China about the thirteenth century. There are two kinds, both accomplished by the process known as incrustation—cloisonné, in which the pattern is raised on the surface of the metal by soldering on to it metal or wire strips of copper, silver, or gold, thus forming a series of cells or cloisons; and champlevé, in which the cell-walls enclosing the pattern are either modelled and cast, or cut and hollowed out of the metal itself by means of graving tools: in both, the pattern is filled in with enamel.
Of the colours, there are two well-contrasted shades of blue—a dark tint made from cobalt and resembling the lapis-lazuli tone, and a light sky blue or turquoise; several greens made from copper, a dark coral red, a fine yellow, black, and white.
Chinese enamels are usually fired in the open courtyard, protected only by a primitive cover of iron network, the charcoal fire being regulated by a number of men standing round with large fans in their hands.[42]
Of the interesting fans in which the combined arts of filigree and enamel are employed we give a charming example from the Wyatt collection at South Kensington. In this, the effective colour scheme is that of the two blues and gold; the design being a conventional rendering of a Phœnix and foliage. In the colour plate given of the fan in the collection of Mr. M. Tomkinson, the leaf has a large cartouche in the centre representing a Chinese garden, with the hostess welcoming a visitor who has arrived on horseback, the servant bringing tea. On either side are small medallions of a sun-dial and a broken column, evidently introduced to the order of a European patron.
| Chinese Fan with ivory miniatures | Mr W. Burdett-Coutts. M.P. |
Of the familiar class of fans having large compositions of figures of which the heads are of applied ivory, painted, the costumes of silk appliqué, the sticks of ivory elaborately carved, the example illustrated from the collection of Mr. Burdett-Coutts belonged to a mandarin of the first rank. A beautiful example was formerly in the possession of H.I.M. the Empress Eugénie,[43] the stick of sandalwood. The brins of these fans, twelve in number, are occasionally varied, as follows:—Two of white ivory, pierced and carved; two of silver filigree and enamel; two of ivory, pierced and carved, coloured scarlet; two of tortoise-shell, carved and pierced; two of engraved white pearl; and two of gilt filigree enamel. The panaches of gilt filigree, with silver dragons in relief. An example occurs in the collection of Mr. Messel, another was in the possession of the late Mr. R. W. Edis.
Almost every important city or district in China has its characteristic fan—something distinctive in the make, colour, or ornamentation of the folding-fan, which is the fan par excellence in the Chinese mind. The convenience of this fan will at once be apparent—it occupies but little space, it may, when not in use, be stuck in the high boot of the full-dressed Chinaman, or in the ample folds of his dress.
These fans are made to suit every class of society from mandarin to peasant—to suit the changing seasons, in different sizes in proportion to the quantity of breeze required. The Son of Heaven, during the sultry summer months, employs fans of feathers, and during winter of silk. Fashion, however, lays down inexorable laws as to the time and period of their use, and to be seen with a fan too early or too late in the year is considered as mauvais ton. A poem by Ow-Yang Hisu informs us that ‘In the tenth moon the people of the capital turn to their warm fans.’
During the warm weather the fan forms part of the ceremony of tea-drinking; the host takes his fan as soon as tea is drunk, and, bowing to the company, says, ‘Thsing-chen’ (I invite you to fan yourselves); each guest immediately using his fan with great gravity and modesty. It is considered a breach of etiquette to be without a fan on such an occasion, or to refrain from its use.[44]