This was one of many fans given to the future Queen Mary on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York (later King George V) in 1893. The subject of the principal fan leaf was the promise of eternal youth: according to Roman myth, Jupiter changed the nymph Juventas into a fountain or spring that had the property of rejuvenating all who bathed in it. On this fan a group of people in eighteenth-century dress arrive at the opening to the spring, attended by amorini; they emerge restored as youthful participants engaged in happy pursuits. The subject was popular for fan leaves. In the 1860s a fan leaf design of La Fontaine was used not only on a fan given to the future Queen Alexandra by her sister and brother-in-law, the Tsarina and Tsar of Russia, but also on one produced by Alexandre for the Empress Eugénie.

Both recto and verso leaves are signed DONZEL. They are the work of Jules Donzel, the best known of the three members of the Donzel family who specialised in fan-painting. Some of his designs in the Duvelleroy archive bear a stamp lettered 'Donzel, 11 Bd. St. Martin, Cours de peinture pour Dames et Demoiselles'. The Donzels worked for all the top Paris fan-makers, including Duvelleroy and Kees. The present fan leaf closely follows the artist's preparatory sketch. The fan was evidently supplied by the London branch of Duvelleroy (at 167 Regent Street), whose description still accompanies the fan. The following annotation was added to the description: Carried by Queen Mary at The Wedding of Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia and Prince Ernest Augustus of Cumberland Berlin 24 May 1913. A photograph of Queen Mary at this wedding shows her holding the fan. The bridegroom (later Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick) was the eldest surviving son of the donors; the bride was the only daughter of Kaiser William II. The Duchess of Cumberland, mother of the bridegroom, was born Princess Thyra of Denmark; she was the youngest sister of the future Queen Alexandra.

Paper leaf, signed DONZEL

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