The Ostankino Palace Museum in Moscow holds a collection of more than 200 fans dating from the early 18th until the 20th century. It is based on the Vishneski and the Sheremetnev collections, which allows us to trace the development of fans over this period in all their diversity.
The 200 incredibly varied, intricate, and beautiful fans in the collection of the Ostankino Palace Museum in Moscow - one of the most important of such collections in the world - are reproduced in more than 250 color illustrations in the new Parkstone book, FANS: from the 18th to the beginnning of the 20th century by Alexander Tcherviakov. Also reproduced are masterpieces by Whistler, Velasquez, Goya, Manet, Renoir, Vallotton, Brullov, Ingres, Bonnard, and Utamaro, each depicting an elegant woman carrying a fan.
The first in a series dedicated to highlighting museum collections in Moscow's former palaces, Fans delights and entertains with an examination of this necessary fashion accessory and cultural symbol used by the nobility and royalty for centuries. Beautifully illustrated, the book focuses on the history of this device and the diverse materials from which it was constructed, including lace, silk, satin, ivory, tortoise, bone, feathers, and precious gems and metals. An art historian at Moscow's Ostankino Museum, Tcherviakov weaves his text around historical and theatrical uses, artistic and decorative potential, and the flirtatious uses of the fan by women. More than a coffee-table standby, this book is recommended primarily for public and academic libraries focusing on the decorative arts.AStephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson City
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.