This fan depicts the ancient Roman wall painting uncovered in 1605-6 on the Esquiline Hill, Rome. The main subject, showing wedding preparations, was soon detached and removed to the garden of the villa of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini; in 1818 it was acquired for the Vatican Museums where it remains to this day. From the time of its discovery the so-called Aldobrandini Wedding attracted great interest. It was copied and engraved on numerous occasions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in both Italy and elsewhere.

This fan leaf was produced in Italy (probably in Rome), specifically for the Grand Tour market. But it appears to have been exported - unmounted - to England, where it was mounted on sticks and made up as a fan. Typically for fan leaves of this type and date, it has a fine decorative border. The latter incorporates swans with eels in their beaks; the reserves are decorated in Etruscan style with the heads of Gorgons at either side.

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