Fan

The symmetrical, Neo-Renaissance composition painted on bare wood depicts the allegory of Music: in the middle a winged putto with the forked tail of a fish is conducting, using two drumsticks raised in the air open in front of him is a score. Beneath him is lightly drawn trailing acanthus, and on either side—above tendrils branching off from it—there is the figure of a naked child. In the hands of one of them is a ribbon, and in the hands of the other a baton with ribbon attached. On the verso, in the middle, is a palmette. Both ends of the guard-sticks, which are each made from a cherry twig, are studded using Neo-Romanesque metal appliqué. To the handle are attached a brass ring and long silk tassel on a thick silk cord. This type of fan was popular at the end of the 19th century: a readymade fan that could be painted according to taste.