It will be convenient, at this juncture, to describe in detail the various elements composing this fan-type which has easily distanced all others in the affections of the fair—a triumph so absolute and complete, that to ninety-nine women out of every hundred the idea of a fan is an instrument which may be folded.
The folding-fan, then, is made up of two principal parts—the stick (la monture) B B and the leaf or mount (la feuille) A. The former consists of a number of blades (brins) C C C C, which have varied at different periods, and are folded between two guards (panaches) D. The guard is made up of three dimensions: the handle-end (la tête) I, through which passes the pin (rivure) E—this is often jewelled; the shoulder (gorge) II, reaching to the lower edge of the mount; and the guard proper III.
| An Embarcation, stick ivory. silver pique. Italian or French. end of 17th. Cent. | Mrs Hamilton Smythe. |
| Cupid’s Hive. Child’s Fan, or Pocket Fan. Italian, early 18th. Cent., 12-1/2 x 6-7/8. | The Dowager Marchioness of Bristol. |
The stick of the richer painted fans is composed of either ivory, mother of pearl, tortoise-shell, or bone: often carved with great minuteness, elaboration, and skill, and further enriched by gilding and inlay, painted miniatures, enamels, and precious stones; that of the less elaborate fan is of wood of various kinds—ebony, rosewood, bamboo, etc. It is also carved, gilt, inlaid, or lacquered in different ways.
The character of Italian sticks is that of simplicity and reticence, even to plainness, this being more in keeping with the generally grave character of the mounts. In a number of instances the brins present a perfectly flat, plain surface of ivory, relieved only by a little carving on the panaches. This is ornamented in various ways, the most characteristic method being that of gold and silver piqué. The work is done by means of a drill, the metal pressed into the spaces.
One of these Italian fans of the end of the seventeenth century, with plain white stick, is in the Wyatt collection, the skin mount painted with the Storming of Jerusalem, and the miraculous curing of Godfrey de Bouillon’s wound, the guards piqué with silver.