Folding fan with David and Abigail

An image of Folding fan, with on the front, a representation of David and Abigail; on the reverse, a lamb, a bird, a butterfly and a basket of fruit. Unknown, maker, China. Single vellum leaf painted in bodycolour and gilt. The sticks are of ivory pierced in a fishscale motif and then etched; the guards are of carved and etched ivory. Length, guards, 24.5 cm. Circa 1720 to circa 1730. Notes: The sticks and guards are Chinese and would have been exported to Europe to be mounted and decorated. The leaf and decoration are from Northwest Europe. Messel-Rosse Collection.

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Folding fan, with on the front, a representation of David and Abigail; on the reverse, a lamb, a bird, a butterfly and a basket of fruit. Unknown, maker, China. Single vellum leaf painted in bodycolour and gilt. The sticks are of ivory pierced in a fishscale motif and then etched; the guards are of carved and etched ivory. Length, guards, 24.5 cm. Circa 1720 to circa 1730. Notes: The sticks and guards are Chinese and would have been exported to Europe to be mounted and decorated. The leaf and decoration are from Northwest Europe. Messel-Rosse Collection.

Image data

Accession Number: M.277-1985
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/27.0
Focal length: 50
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Katie Young
Image height: 660 pixels
Image width: 1023 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
Filesize: 121.64kB
Exposure time: 1/60
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 27/1

Key words

18th Century Abigail animal animals basket of fruit biblical David European fan fans Fitz_AA folding fan fruits grapes horses ivory King David Old Testament painted pierced vellum

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "Folding fan with David and Abigail"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-446191981 Accessed: 2025-12-13 15:40:34

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            {{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-446191981
            |title=Folding fan with David and Abigail
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-13 15:40:34|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Folding fan with David and Abigail</figcaption>
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