Unfolding Pictures: Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Fan, 1897

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Fan
June, 1897
English--The Worshipful Co. of Fanmakers
The Royal Collection

A gift from the Worshipful Company of Fanmakers to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, this fan is crafted from the finest Irish lace, gold thread, and carved and pierced ivory.


Amongst the beads and spangles which adorn the fan are symbols of Victoria’s long reign. When it was presented to her, the fan shimmered with hundreds of diamonds which were woven amongst the pale-colored glass beads. At some point in the Twentieth Century, the fan was stripped of its diamonds. Still beautiful and an excellent example of the ingenuity of English fanmakers, I can’t help but think it would have been a little more magnificent if left alone.