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Japan: Courts and Culture

Telling the story of 400 years of British royal contact with Japan

JAPAN [ASIA]

Japanese ivory and lacquer fan

c. 1880

Ivory brisé fan decorated with raised gold lacquer work (takamaki-e) (2 + 20); silver pin and engraved silver loop, cream silk tassel | 25.7 cm (guardstick) | RCIN 25182

This fan was a gift from Princess Chichibu (1909-95) to either Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth in 1937. The donor, born Setsuko Matsudaira, was the daughter of Tsuneo Matsudaira, a former ambassador from Japan to Washington and London. In 1928 she married Prince Yasuhito Chichibu, the younger brother of Emperor Hirohito. Both Prince and Princess Chichibu were noted anglophiles and attended the coronation of King George VI in May 1937. In the course of Prince Chichibu’s visit to England he presented the King and Queen with Japanese insignia. Visits were paid to both Queen Mary at Marlborough House (on 30 April) and to the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace (on 19 May), but there appear to be no records of the presentation of this fan on either occasion. The design - repeated in reverse on front and back - incorporates chrysanthemums (the Japanese imperial emblem) and birds. This is applied to the ivory sticks with raised gold lacquer work (takamaki-e). As befits a gift from a member of the Japanese imperial family, the quality of the lacquer work is extremely high. The present fan is particularly notable for the amount of gold lacquer work on both the recto and verso, and for the overall decoration with chrysanthemums. Repeated layers of lac (from tree sap) mixed with ground gold would have been involved in its creation, each layer being carefully rubbed down before the next was applied. After the lifting of the trade barrier with Japan in 1853, Japanese goods became very sought after in the West and Japanese manufacturers soon learnt to adjust their output specifically to accommodate Western taste. Fans of similar appearance to this were produced in Japan in the late nineteenth century, often specifically for presentation to high-ranking European recipients. The original lacquer box is typical of a Japanese export product. Text adapted from Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection 2005
  • Presented by Princess Chichibu to either Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth, 1937


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