Sunday, July 10, 2011

Unfolding Pictures: A Gothic Revival Fan, 1820-1840

Gothic Revival Fan
1820-1840
Horn sticks, painted leaf, gold guards and points
The Victoria & Albert Museum
This astounding fan set with a sparkling emerald is a collaborative effort between English and French makers in the style of the Gothic Revival.


The artistic movement known as “The Gothic Revival” was inspired by medieval art and architecture and reached its apex in Britain in the 1830s and 1840s. The style was employed on a variety of objects and buildings. It even changed fashions for a period.

The style is seen on this fan in the form of the delicately pointed tops to the sticks which were made all the more delicate with crocketing - small projections along the points in the style of the gables, arches and spires of Gothic churches.

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