Fan — Giant fan possibly used in a production of <i>The Mikado</i>, Japan, ca.1885
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca.1885
Fan in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number S.704-2019), made in Japan, dated ca.1885, attributed to unknown. The museum's brief description reads: Hand-painted giant fan possibly used as a stage property in an early production of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado.
Watercolour on paper with bamboo sticks and guards, probably Japanese, ca.1885. Museum description: Giant fan, hand-painted with a Japanese landscape featuring mountains, trees, people and buildings in black, green, blue and red watercolour on a paper leaf. Edged with a narrow strip of black paper, mounted on bamboo sticks, with polished bamboo guards The museum records it as painted paper, measuring Height 99.5 cm; Width 190.0 cm; Length 99.0 cm; Height 54.9 cm.
These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
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.
Historical context
This giant fan may have been used as a stage property in an early production of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado that opened at London's Savoy Theatre in March 1885. It would certainly have produced a comic effect when carried by Ko-Ko, the diminutive but bombastically titled Lord High Executioner. There is no proof that this fan was used in The Mikado, but its acquisition by the donor in a lot with two D'Oyly Carte related items makes it seem likely. The sheer size of the fan makes it a remarkable object in its own right, while the delicacy of the watercolour painting on the leaf indicates that it was painted, if not made in Japan.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- paper, bamboo, watercolour
- Dimensions
- Height 99.5 cm; Width 190.0 cm; Length 99.0 cm; Height 54.9 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- painted paper
- Maker recorded
- unknown
- Place recorded
- Japan
Identification
- Museum object name
- Fan
- Museum object number
- S.704-2019
- Museum system number
- O1513981
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 catalogue references against a specialist reference.