Still working through my own collections of a long life, this is one of my favorite antique French hand fans, last quarter of 19th century to as late as 1910, it is lush with curly feathers, black in color with an undamaged tortoise shell monture and trimmed with an 18k gold crown monogram. In France, it is reserved only for Nobles who do have title, and the initials are an overlapping O and M. One might be able to research for whom it was made. Large and lush, it could be used, or is fabulous in display. I think I see it as costume in some grand Belle Epoch movie or series set. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, the feathers remain lush, thick, very nicely formed and preserved as you can see. The monture, in finest tortoise shell, is complete and undamaged, not even a tiny bug bite. The fan comes without a box, but is carefully stored in archival pouch. Use or display. It's gorgeous!
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
