Fans from the Zucchi Collection 

Hand fans have existed for over 4000 years. Fans have endured almost as long as there has been heat. They can be functional, aesthetic, symbolic, or any combination of the three.  For human skin, the flow of air from moving fans increases the evaporation rate of perspiration, lowering body temperature. Fans also were utilized throughout history to shield women’s delicate skin from the harsh rays of the sun, as well as to keep insects at bay. In sacred rituals they were employed to fan flames. They are not, however, purely utilitarian. Beginning in ancient Egypt and China, fans have been exquisitely crafted and decorated with precious materials and images. Fans were produced from a variety of materials including feathers, paper, silk, bamboo, lace, ivory, mica, and leather. Two feathered ceremonial fans were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen from 1352 BC. The sacred fans discovered in the Egyptian tombs also imply an early recognition of the fan as a symbol of status. 

In the 15th and 16th centuries, fans were introduced into modern Europe from China and Japan via Portuguese trade. They were eagerly adopted by the aristocratic and royal classes as luxury items that suggested power and affluence. As they became increasingly fashionable, an entire language of fans was constructed to subtly communicate between holder and viewer. It has been said that in Venice, and the courts of England, Spain and elsewhere, folding fans were used in an elaborate unspoken code of personal messages. Fans are ubiquitous in European eighteenth and nineteenth century paintings of royalty, courtesans, and Spanish dancers.

The Zucchi’s framed hand fan collection combines the exquisite quality and traditional imagery of European culture. Approximately half of the fans depict men and women, fashionably dressed in rococo costumes, strolling or seated in pastoral settings. In these scenes, a soft, Fragonardesque-light plays across a range of pastel colors. The Beggar Student, number six, is a more modern image, informed by a nineteenth-century romantic style. Many of the most elegant fans are purely decorative, constituted of delicate patterns on both sticks and leaves. Seen together, the fans continue their traditional function to communicate. In this regard, the collection conveys the rigorous intellectual curiosity and refined aesthetic taste of the Zucchi family.

Eric Denker