Barony of Mordenvale

A&S Basic Documentation Form

Name of Entrant:
Event:

Taysia della Vuenta (Mundane: Raquel Cameron)

March Tourney For-the-sake-of-a-tourney Tourney / Newcomers.

Place And Date:

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Merewether High School. March 5 , 2005.

What is the item?: A cooling item - fan.

What is it used for?: The fan was primarily used for waving to create air movement, but it was also
used for waving away insects, hiding behind, courting tactics and simply as a beautiful addition to an
ensemble.
From what time period does your item date from?: I have based my fan on many Venetian types
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seen in the 16 Century. As an Italian/Venetian married lady with a family of mid to high society I tried
to find an example that would have befit my station.

Lavinia, the daughter of Titian, in her portrait as a young girl (1550) carries a
flag fan; some years later she is pictured with a feathered fan, significant of
venetian nobility.(1)

(a)

How/Methods/Techniques/Materials:
I found some sources first off that I liked the look of, and then worked out how I would build my fan
using the resources I had available.
The following are the examples that I based my own fan on.

Venetian Fan Handle with modern ostrich feathers. About 1550.

Gilt brass with openwork decoration and engraving from the
Victorian and Albert Museum London. Photoed by authors friend
Mistress Kiriel on her visit to the Victorian and Albert Museum
London. (2)

(b)

Queen Elizabeth. A fan presented to Her Majesty for a

Newyers-tyde' gift had the handle studded with diamonds, 'A
fanne of white feathers, with a handle of gold, having two
snakes wyndinge about it, garnished with a ball of diamonds
at the ende, and a crowne on each side within a paire of
wings garnished .with diamonds' was in the Queen's possession
in I600. (1)

(a)

(c)

So, after hours scouring eBay, and many garage sales; it was clear that I was not going to be able to
make my handle from brass like I had wanted. There is no proof that all handles were in fact metal, in
fact it is questioned that some may have been gold gild on wood so. In Hardwarehouse I found
some nice little pieces of pre shaped wood that suited perfectly to the task. Unfortunately they were
not cheap so gilding was out of the question next choice gold paint. So, I took home my pieces
of wood and paint.

(d)
First I put on a primer coat of white to seal the wood and then painted on a few layers of gold. I had
collected a few bags of peacock feathers from a relatives farm and began to stick these in place
layering them down to the base.

(d)

The two pieces were stuck together and addition feathers and paint were added to tidy up the fan.
Conclusions:
I thoroughly enjoyed making this fan, even though I did tend to go a little overboard (I tend to do this
mask!!!!!) It works well and does the job, however I would like to try the paper square type fan just to
compare effectiveness.
Used at a mask ball or simply for cooling etc this fan does make a statement and would have shown
a higher status for myself and my family I would have been very proud to wave this fan around in
Venice in the 15 -1600s.
Sources of Information/Bibliography:
: Literary References.
(1) Lady Dianottos Costuming In The Renaissance -http://www.ladydianottos.com/costumin.htm
(2) Renaissance Fans - http://www.geocities.com/curvess2000/fans_in_portraits.htm
(3) The Renaissance Tailor. Three Types of Sixteenth Century Fans.
http://www.vertetsable.com/demos_fans.htm
: Pictoral References.
(a) http://www.carnevalecento.com/sitoeng/02storia/text.htm
(b) Renaissance Fans - http://www.geocities.com/curvess2000/fans_in_portraits.htm
(c) The Renaissance Tailor. Three Types of Sixteenth Century Fans.
http://www.vertetsable.com/demos_fans.htm
(d) Pictures of fan progress by Raquel Cameron