Late-Qing Palm Fan for Court Use

Palm fans, made of guards & ribs and stems of palm trees, were the most commonly-used type in ancient China given the light weight and low price. But this pear-shaped palm fan on display indicates a thoughtful choice of material and more refined craftsmanship than those common ones as it was designed for the royal families. Instead of the often-seen palm handle, this fan adopted a ruyi-shaped wood handle with a coating of black lacquer on which there are gold-tracing Chinese characters.