Fan, kidskin, Great Britain, 1760s
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1760s
The image of the lady and the black servant on this fan is in a familiar tradition of representing black people in Britain as servants for white employers, or - in American and Caribbean contexts - as enslaved people. This image is unusual because it appears on a fan.
The scene of a black man or boy serving a woman in a garden is reminiscent of Robert Hancock's popular design The Tea Party , which was transfer-printed on ceramics and also appears on an enamel snuff box in the V&A's collection. Fan made of kid. Painted on one side with a trompe l'oeil pattern of white lace, blue fabric and pink striped ribbons. There is a painted vignette of a white woman sitting in a garden, attended by a black male servant. She is taking a glass from a tray that he is holding.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Painted kidskin
- Dimensions
- Length: 30.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Great Britain
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O68723
- Museum object name
- Fan
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- T.25-1957
- Museum system number
- O68723
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.