Hand-Fan

The hand-fan is made of a natural palm-leaf which is covered in fine muslin and to which a wooden handle is attached. The fan is adorned with pigment painted floral and peacock motifs.
Natural palm-leaf fans in different sizes (depending upon the palm from which the leaf is derived) have been in use in India for centuries. However, this large fan having a specially attached wooden handle and fine and delicate painting certainly comes from an aristocratic family. On one side of the fan there is an inscription in Roman script reading: Meer Fatte Alikhan Bahadur.