Fan — The Sleeping Beauty, Edinburgh, 1888
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1888
Fan in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number T.422-1976), made in Edinburgh, dated 1888, attributed to Phoebe Anna Traquair, Phoebe Anna Traquair. The museum's brief description reads: Fan 'The Sleeping Beauty,' painted with watercolours on silk and with ivory sticks, designed and made by Phoebe Anna Traquair, Edinburgh, 1888. Museum description: Fan painted with watercolours on silk. It has a plain silk back. The design consists of a child-like sleeping beauty in the centre approached by Cupid, whilst around her young Pans are playing. Their horns and pipes are picked out in gold paint. The sticks and guards are of ivory with silver mounts on the guards. There is a plain metal loop to take a ribbon. 'The Sleeping Beauty' is written beneath the sleeping female. The museum records it as Painted with watercolour on silk, silver-tipped ivory, measuring Length 29.2 cm; Width 52 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
By the 1880s and 1890s, fans were optional accessories. However, they continued to be mass-produced in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and materials. A number of artists and designers working in the Arts and Crafts style saw that the fan leaf provided an interesting surface for design. Phoebe Traquair painted this fan. She was Scotland’s foremost artist in the Arts and Crafts movement and worked in a remarkable range of media. These included mural painting, embroidery, manuscript illumination and enamelling. This fan leaf depicts the story of the Sleeping Beauty. Like many of her other works, it has a mysterious dreamlike quality.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- silk (textile), watercolour, ivory
- Dimensions
- Length 29.2 cm; Width 52 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Painted with watercolour on silk, silver-tipped ivory
- Maker recorded
- Phoebe Anna Traquair, Phoebe Anna Traquair
- Place recorded
- Edinburgh
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'The Sleeping Beauty'
Identification
- Museum object name
- Fan
- Museum object number
- T.422-1976
- Museum system number
- O62498
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.