The Five Senses
Maker: Unknown
Folding fan with five women who listen, look, taste and touch. In the background, a beehive is visible.
Paper leaf with hand coloured etching decorated with mother of pearl glitter, and mother of pearl spangles. On plain ivory sticks and carved and pierced ivory guards.
History note: Lennox Boyd Estate. Christie's no. 973
Accepted by H. M. Government in lieu of inheritance tax from the Lennox Boyd Estate
Method of acquisition: Allocated (2015-04-27) by H.M. Government
18th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1740
Sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch are the five traditionally recognized methods of perception. It was common in Western art to portray these abstract concepts as women engaged in activities that used one or more of these senses. The leaf here is in a deteriorated state: it is torn and discoloured with brown spots, known as foxing, caused by mould or degrading foreign particles in the paper.
This fan forms part of the collection of the Hon. Christopher Lennox Boyd, allocated to the Museum by H.M. Government in lieu of inheritance tax in 2015. The collection of over 600 fans ranges in date from the 18th to the 20th centuries and in type from bejewelled and hand-painted court and wedding fans, to printed mass-produced advertising fans, aide-memoire fans, mourning fans and children’s fans.
Leaf
composed of
paper
spangles
Sticks
composed of
ivory
Guards
Accession number: M.259-2015
Primary reference Number: 204826
Sale number: 973
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "The Five Senses" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/204826 Accessed: 2024-12-23 13:14:52
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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/204826
|title=The Five Senses
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 13:14:52|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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