Fan Depicting a Skating Scene French Leaf, 1863 Leather, Mother-of-Pearl, Gold, Coral The Royal Collection |
The leaves are certainly French in origin while the guards and sticks may have been crafted in England. As was typical of the day, the leaf is decorated with scenes of Nineteenth Century courtly life: dancing, music-making, and most prominently, skating. These were especially important activities to Alexandra who excelled at all of them, especially ice skating for which she had a long passion. In fact, her skating in 1864 hastened the premature birth of her eldest son, The Duke of Clarence.
Queen Alexandra amassed an impressive collection of fans, but this one was always special to her because of the scenes depicted, the donor and the event it represented.
No comments:
Post a Comment