Folding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of Vesuvius

Folding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of Vesuvius

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is a typical, and very elegant, eighteenth-century souvenir fan, depicting the dramatic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, flanked by sunny scenes of Classical ruins identified by inscriptions as sites in Pompeii. These landscapes are set against a delicate decorative design inspired by Roman wall paintings. Such fans were made in some quantities for wealthy visitors enjoying their Grand Tour vacations in Italy to take home as mementoes. Though the painted fan leaves were made in Italy, often the sticks and guards were attached once home in Britain. This example relates to others in The Met's collection of Vesuvius (14.73; 63.90.73; 38.91.105), of the Colosseum (24.80.32, 63.90.76), and of the Bay of Naples (63.90.79)

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Folding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of VesuviusFolding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of VesuviusFolding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of VesuviusFolding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of VesuviusFolding Fan with Representations of Pompeii and the 1786 Eruption of Vesuvius

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.