This brisé fan made of thinly sliced, almost transparent horn dates to c1790-1815. It is probably British, but could also be French. It is a small fan, typical of this period when almost all hand-held fans got smaller. Here, each stick measures only 5 ½”.
It is decorated with polished steel piqué work. All the little circles that look white are actually bright silver in person.
Piqué was a decorative technique made by inlaying tiny points or pins of gold or other polished metals in patterns upon various materials. It is often seen in brisé fans of the Regency period, especially on tortoiseshell and horn. The tiny disks are inlaid into shallow recesses with glue. Due to opening and closing the fan, some bits of the piqué work have been lost over time, but a great many of them are intact, giving this fan an elegant style that must have sparkled in a candlelit ballroom.
The pierced design of the sticks was created by tiny jeweler’s saws, punches, and other tools. Each stick is identically pierced, with every other stick reversed to create that lovely pattern of swags and arabesques.