If one realizes that most lithophane images are copies of engravings, it will not be a surprise that a few 19th century lithophane images include people holding fans.  But did you know that some lithophanes are mounted as fans?  To imagine a fan is to generally conjure up an image of a pretty folded paper device that a fashionable woman might have waved daintily in the air during some bygone era or in an exotic land.  Fans were (and are) fixed or folded; created from ancient to modern times; perhaps Oriental, Middle Eastern, English, or European in origin; created from palm fronds, feathers, kid, chicken skin, lace, ribbons, silk, velvet, satin, ivory, tortoiseshell, mica, lacquer, jade, horn, mother-of-pearl, various papers, and more.  Some were hand-painted, others printed.  Parts of the fan were some times carved, pierced, gilded and silvered, or bejeweled.

One generally does not connect the “airy” nature of fans with the rigid, breakable, coldness of porcelain.  After all, who would wave a somewhat heavy breakable “fan” in the air? 

A hand screen is a type of fixed fan that some say was introduced from China to Korea and Japan at the end of the sixth century.  The hand screen is, at times, referred to as a complexion fan. Complexion fans were a clever invention, popular in Victorian times, which protected the waxy makeup of both men and women from the threat of meltdown from the heat of the fires, lamps, or candles of the time.  While no one waved these complexion “fans” through the air, these beautiful and useful devices also protected one’s eyes from the light and heat.  The porcelain plaque was mounted at the end of a handle, much in the manner that a lithophane is fastened into a candle shield stand.  The fashionable person would hold the screen or fan in front of his or her face, literally shielding the face from the heat source.  The porcelain was not affected by the heat and neither was the waxy makeup of the bearer.  Additionally with the plaque situated between the person’s eyes and the fire, the person with the complexion fan was treated to a splendid view of the image on the porcelain, illuminated by the glow of the embers.  It has been noted that the European hand screen evolved in the late 18th century “when a face flushed by the fire’s heat was not regarded as pretty.”[1] While the porcelain lithophane hand screens were often mounted in sturdy metal frames with metal handles, other materials were used to construct hand screens, including wood or papier mâché.   The male counterpart to the hand screen has been described as plain and utilitarian, and was “designed to fit into a slot on the back of a chair.”[2] To the uninitiated it seems as though complexion fans or hand screens which incorporated lithophanes should be abundant.  But if the Blair collection is any gauge, not many of these devices survived the passing of time and the perils of breakage.

There are only three examples of hand screens in the Blair Museum collection.  One depicts a young girl testing the water with her toes while her friends watch. The lithophane is from the Plaue factory, marked PPM 83.  It is comprised of a cast iron frame and a wooden handle.  This combination of materials would have resulted in a lighter weight object that would have been less tiring to hold. Another complexion fan in the collection depicts the ascension of Christ and it is framed in brass.  The third complexion fan is that of a gentleman recognizable as Francis I, the porcelain plaque probably manufactured by AdT with wood turned handle and papier mâché border.  These three were published in an article in the winter 1990-1991 issue of the Fan Association of North America Quarterly, volume IX, no. 3.

A fine pair of complexion fans, also to be included in this special exhibition is in the private collection of Sandy Melnikoff.  Her lithophanes, mounted in almost Medieval-looking 19th century hand screen frames, were both manufactured by AdT near Paris.  The stunning mounts are identical. One lithophane image depicts an interior scene of perhaps a castle or a manor house, a knight in armor is petting the faithful dog at his side, and a veiled, gowned woman stands in a nearby doorway with a young boy behind her clutching her skirt; a female servant is seen peering through the partially opened doorway.  A similar lithophane can be seen in the collection of the Blair Museum, acc. no. 851, measuring 3.625” x 2.25” and marked “25.”  The other complexion fan from the Melnikoff collection is also an interior scene and depicts two seated women, with a robed man holding a spindle of yarn, and a child on a stool at their feet.  A fence is the backdrop for this genre scene.

The only other two known hand screens in private and public collections are the one featured on the cover of this bulletin, depicting Jacob and Rebecca, owned by Connie Scott, and one in the collection of the Parc Howard Museum and Art Gallery, Llanelly, Wales.  The latter 19th century Welsh hand screen includes a round lithophane, Night, with a woman carrying a child, and is marked with the rare back stamp “South Wales Pottery.” It is illustrated on page 70 of the book Lithophanes, published in 2008 by Schiffer Publishing.

Traditional personal hand fans including folding fans and feather fans are infrequently seen in lithophanes and will also be featured in the exhibition that will open at the Blair Museum on Sunday May 2, with a reception open to the public from 2-4 p.m.  Visitors will be interested to see beautiful 19th century hand screens/complexion fans made of papiér maché, lacquer, mother of pearl, and other materials that do not contain lithophanes, all highly prized possessions of the Victorian era.  Loans from the Toledo Museum of Art include works on paper representing the traditional use of hand screens and personal fans in Japanese culture from the 19th century.  This exhibition will remain on view free to the public on weekends 1-4 p.m. and at other times by prior appointment for a small fee.

If anyone knows of a hand screen that includes a lithophane panel, the Blair Museum of Lithophanes would be grateful to learn about it, as it seems that there are only about 7 examples in public and private collections, six of which will be featured in this upcoming exhibition, The Ironic Porcelain Fan.

This exhibition was supported, in part, through a generous contribution of Banana George and JoAnne Blair.

[1] Amoret and Christopher Scott, Collecting Bygones (New York:  David McKay Company, Inc., 1964), p. 112.

[2] Ibid.