Design for a Hand Mirror or Fan Handle 1645 - 1705

This pen and brown ink drawing presents a design for a hand mirror or fan handle. Look closely, and you'll notice how the composition is dominated by curvilinear forms, swirling from the base to the rounded top. The artist masterfully uses line to suggest depth and texture. The structure itself is a study in contrasts. The solid, densely worked areas at the top and bottom anchor the more ethereal, lightly sketched central portion. This creates a visual tension, as if the object is both grounded and on the verge of dissolving into the surrounding space. Consider how this dynamic interplay challenges the very idea of a fixed, stable form. The drawing destabilizes established categories of solidity and transparency, inviting us to see the object not as a static entity, but as a fluid, ever-changing presence. The formal qualities here function aesthetically and encourage an ongoing interpretation of representation.