First of all, the end of one of the long turned wood handles is broken, so you'll need to either accept that or carefully saw the end off the other one if you want them to match. That said, this is a magnificent pair of early 1800s French hand painted Heraldry face screens, beautifully crafted on silk. The vibrant colors and the high skill of the artist make them more like fine art than functional screens, and they beg to be hung as wall art. The old face screens were requisite accoutrement for any fine home in the 1800s, and were handed to guests to protect their faces from the ravages of a direct open large fireplace in the effort to warm a guest but not melt their wax-based makeup, nor turn their pale lovely cheeks a mottled pink/red from the flame. We always watch for them and have had many sets over the years. I never tire of seeing the beautiful manner in which this functional item was created. Very decorative, they range from fine pearl-inlaid and hand painted papier mache, (more typical in UK) to the embroidered, beadwork and needlepoint ones (also typical in UK) to the earlier painted paper and silk ones we find more often out of France. Works of art, all.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. These were normally always made in paris, and it's rather rare to find a nice pair in the old painted silk. The flaw to note would be that one handle has been broken off at the end, so you'd want to either replace the old handles or perhaps cut one to match the shorter form. Depends upon how you intend to display them. I love the idea of these being framed. Fit for a gentleman's room (the Heraldry being quite masculine) or a lady's room, bedroom, etc., and the silk is not torn or tattered as is often the case. A little darkening here or there, not much. Measurements noted on the photos.
