fan
Hand fan
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![]() | It has been suggested that European Hand Fans in the Eighteenth Century be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2010. |
The movement of a hand-held fan provides cooling by increasing the airflow over the skin which in turn increases the evaporation rate of sweat droplets on the skin. This evaporation has a cooling effect due to the latent heat of evaporation of water. Fans are convenient to carry around, especially folding fans.
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[edit] History
[edit] East Asia
Printed fan leaves and painted fans are done on a paper ground. The paper was originally hand made and displayed the characteristic watermarks. Machine made paper fans, introduced in the 19th century, are smoother with an even texture.
Japanese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. In addition to folding fans (ōgi),[9] the non-bending fans (uchiwa) are popular and commonplace.[10] The fan is primarily used for fanning oneself in hot weather.
The fan symbolizes friendship, respect and good wishes.[citation needed] They are given on special occasions, and they are also an important stage prop in Japanese dance.
It was also used in the military as a way of sending signals on the field of battle, however fans were mainly used for social and court activities. In Japan, fans were variously used by warriors as a form of weapon, by actors and dancers for performances, and by children as a toy.
In China, the folding fan, introduced from Japan, came into fashion during the Ming dynasty between the years of 1368 and 1644, and Hangzhou was a center of folding fan production. The Mai Ogi (or Chinese dancing fan) has ten sticks and a thick paper mount showing the family crest. Chinese painters crafted many fan decoration designs. The slats, of ivory, bone, mica, mother of pearl, sandalwood, or tortoise shell, were carved and covered with paper or fabric. Folding fans have "montures" which are the sticks and guards. The leaves are usually painted by craftsman. Social significance was attached to the fan in the Far East. The management of the fan became a highly regarded feminine art. The function and employment of the fan reached its high point of social significance (fans were even used as a weapon - called the iron fan, or tiě shān in Chinese, tessen in Japanese; see Korean fighting fan for Korean use).
[edit] Europe

Ancient Greek statue of a lady with blue and gilt garment, fan and sun hat, from Tanagra, 325-300 BC, Altes Museum, Berlin

Eros offering a fan and a mirror to a lady. Ancient Greek amphora from Apulia, Archaeological Museum in Milan, Italy
In the 17th century the folding fan, introduced from East Asia, became popular in Europe. These fans are particularly well displayed in the portraits of the high-born women of the era. Queen Elizabeth 1st of England can be seen to carry both folding fans decorated with pom poms on their guardsticks as well as the older style rigid fan, usually decorated with feathers and jewels. These rigid style fans often hung from the skirts of ladies, but of the fans of this era it is only the more exotic folding ones which have survived. Those folding fans of the 15th century found in museums today have either leather leaves with cut out designs forming a lace-like design or a more rigid leaf with inlays of more exotic materials like mica. One of the characteristics of these fans is the rather crude bone or ivory sticks and the way the leather leaves are often slotted onto the sticks rather than glued as with later folding fans. Fans made entirely of decorated sticks without a fan 'leaf' were known as brisé fans. However, despite the relative crude methods of construction folding fans were at this era high status, exotic items on par with elaborate gloves as gifts to royalty.
In the 17th century the rigid fan which was seen in portraits of the previous century had fallen out of favour as folding fans gained dominance in Europe. Fans started to display well painted leaves, often with a religious or classical subject. The reverse side of these early fans also started to display elaborate flower designs. The sticks are often plain ivory or tortoiseshell, sometimes inlaid with gold or silver pique work. The way the sticks sit close to each other, often with little or no space between them is one of the distinguishing characteristics of fans of this era.
In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked in France. This caused large scale immigration from France to the surrounding Protestant countries (such as England) of many fan craftsman. This dispersion in skill is reflected in the growing quality of many fans from these non-French countries after this date.
It has been said that in the courts of England, Spain and elsewhere fans were used in a more or less secret, unspoken code of messages[12] These fan languages were a way to cope with the restricting social etiquette. However, modern research has proved that this was a marketing ploy developed in the 18th century (FANA Journal, spring 2004, Fact & Fiction about the language of the fan by J.P. Ryan) - one that has kept its appeal remarkably over the succeeding centuries. This is now used for marketing by fan makers like Cussons & Sons & Co. Ltd who produced a series of advertisements in 1954 showing "the language of the fan" with fans supplied by the well known French fan maker Duvelleroy.[citation needed]
[edit] Categories
Hand fans have two general categories:[citation needed]- Flat fans (Chinese: 平扇, pǐng shàn; Japanese: 団扇, uchiwa, cannot be folded): circular fans, palm-leaf fans, straw fans, feather fans, etc.
- Folding fans (Chinese: 折扇, zhě shàn; Japanese: 扇子, sensu, can be freely opened): silk folding fans, paper folding fans, sandalwood fans, etc.
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