Cockade Fan
Artist
Maker unknown
Datec. 1884
MediumWood, leather, steel, brass
DimensionsOverall: 8 1/2in. (21.6cm)
ClassificationsPERSONAL ARTIFACTS
Credit LineGift of Mrs. H. Maldwyn Jones and Miss Elizabeth Jones
Terms
Object number81.39
Description“British Gentleman’s” cockade fan. Black leather leaf. Black leather over wooden case. Steel and black cardboard buttons on rivet. Steel ends, brass ring to fasten open or closed.On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextCenturies before folding fans were imported to Europe from the Orient; a fan with a circular folding leaf was used in Christian ritual. The old Roman flabellum was its model; its main purpose was to keep flies from the Host during the mass. This pleated leather fan is a late interpretation of that ancient type. The leather is attached to wooden handles also covered in leather. Fully extended, the leaf opens 360 degrees to form a cockade. It can be released and folded back to lie flat between the sticks. Entirely without color, it may have been intended for a man's use.
