Hand held fans have been in use as early as the time of the pharaohs. Made from straw to palm fiber to grass, paper, wood or even ivory, they were decorated with elaborate designs and used in everyday life as well as social events.
INSECTS, DANCE AND MARKETING PLOYS
It is notable that many hand-held fans were not employed for cooling at all. The flabellum, a European ritual fan dating to the 6th century, was in fact used to drive insects away from consecrated bread and wine. At the other side of the world, Shinto priests would use fans made of hinoki (or Japanese cypress) as part of their ceremonial wardrobe, geishas would hold dancing fans that were worked into their choreography and Samurai warlords would direct their army units from afar by signaling to them with their war fans.
It is also worth pointing out that hand held fans of any kind were nowhere to be seen in medieval Europe. The rigid variety was reintroduced only by the end of that period, by crusaders and refugees from the Byzantine Empire. In the following centuries, Portuguese traders would systematically import them from East Asia and make them so popular that, by the 16th century, they would literally be hanging from every European lady’s gown.
In the 17th century the Japanese folding fan would also find its way to Europe and become a vital part of the female wardrobe. Ladies all over the continent, including Queen Elizabeth I would be immortalized by painters holding foldable fans decorated with pom-poms attached to their sticks. The image of a queen donning a hoopskirt and holding a fan as a symbol of sovereignty became so stereotypical that the quick-tempered Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was depicted waving an, adequately heart shaped, hand fan.
It was said that in the courts of England and Spain the adoption of the oriental folding fan as a fashion accessory was followed by the development of a secret language used by the handler to communicate with her admirers. However, modern research has concluded that the “language of the fans” was merely an alluring misconception, a marketing trick used to sell stock during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Bringing again in mind the case of the Japanese generals and their battle habits, it turns out that people throughout history used fans to make war, not love.
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER
These light leaf shaped fans, woven from palm tree leaves, are both a fashion item as well as one of practical use. This variety was often handed out to guests in summer weddings in order to give a tropical note to the decor as well as make the long hours of the service more endurable. The service and wedding feast over, they would then be taken home to be displayed or reused, always serving as a memento of the happy event.