Brisé fan c. 1795

Editor: Here we have a Brisé fan, dating back to around 1795. It's listed as being made by an anonymous artist, employing mixed media, and incorporates painting. It's a beautiful object. The delicate pierced ivory and inserted painted vignettes make it seem so fragile. What do you notice when you look at this? Curator: Well, beyond its surface prettiness, I’m immediately drawn to the labor embedded within this object. Consider the intricate carving, the painting—the sheer amount of handcraft involved. Who were these artisans? Were they free or enslaved laborers benefiting from the plantation system? And how does that production inform the narratives depicted in the painted scenes? Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered. The paintings do show what seems like privileged people in garden settings. Curator: Precisely. The leisure and elegance depicted are inextricably linked to systems of labor and extraction. The fan itself, as a luxury object, represents a specific social class and its attendant consumption. The materials themselves - ivory, pigments - all carry histories of trade, power, and potentially, exploitation. Editor: So, viewing it as Rococo-style decoration ignores the underlying social dynamics of its production and consumption. Curator: Exactly. We must move beyond simply admiring its aesthetic qualities to question its creation. This shift invites us to reconsider the role of such objects within broader historical structures. How do the painted genre scenes act as a form of social performance? What ideologies are being reproduced through these images and the object itself? Editor: That is insightful! I see the fan in a new light now. Curator: Indeed! By examining the materiality and production processes, we expose complex webs of social relations embedded within a seemingly simple, decorative object.