By the end of the nineteenth century lace fans were an essential part of a bride’s trousseau. At the time of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of York in 1893 the bride received large numbers of lace fans, including this one. The present fan was the gift of the Earl and Countess of Yarborough. The leaf is a fine example of Brussels point de gaze lace, a needle-lace technique revived in the 1840s. This was one of the most fashionable laces in the second half of the nineteenth century. It incorporated a fine mesh (gaze) ground and naturalistic floral patterns. Typical features are the use of tiny rings to ornament the centres of flowers and to serve as buds at the end of tendrils, and the tiny three-dimensional petals. The lace in this fan, which is of a very high quality, is beautifully designed to match the shape of the leaf.

Although it was possible to acquire fans from a number of the lace dealers in Brussels, the majority of Brussels lace fan leaves appear to have been exported and mounted in Paris, London or elsewhere. The original box supplied with the present fan, with the label of Duvelleroy’s London operation in the lid, has survived. This fan is unusual in combining dark tortoiseshell guards and sticks with a white lace fan; tortoiseshell was normally used with black Chantilly lace while mother-of-pearl was used for Brussels lace. With the diamond cipher on the front guard, it was evidently very popular with its recipient and was soon described as being in her ‘personal use’.

Text adapted from Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection 2005