Fan

The small, foldable fan was invented in Japan and came to Europe in the 16th century.  In the 18th century pleating moulds for fans were designed, which led to mass production, as the fan was an essential item of the wedding basket. The newly-discovered process of lithography enabled the reproduction of individual drawings, which were afterwards hand painted. In the 18th century the painting of fans was still a marginal art, whereas in the 19th century the fans already contained the names of the painters who had painted the miniatures on them. Slowly the fan was transformed into a genuine work of art.