Casgliadau Arlein

Painted paper fan (oriental-style) with lacquered bamboo sticks and guards (red-brown colour). Front face of sticks is decorated with 2 printed geometric designs of small triangles and circles filled with stylised flowers. Lower part of sticks (on reverse) is printed with floral design. Upper part is decorated with two complete rectangles of metal leaf (spread across several sticks) and specks of metal leaf (silver- and gold-coloured). Outsides of guards is printed in scrolling foliage design. Gold coloured paint used for printed designs.

Paper leaf is adhered to sticks & guards. It is made up of two layers: a front layer which has a mother-of-pearl surface sheen, is painted with floral motifs and a scene containing a building, sea and mountain in blue/white/grey towards upper right. Sections have been cut out of this front layer revealing a semi-transparent paper backing layer beneath it. This backing layer has a lustrous, speckled appearance created by applying small fragments of metal leaf to the paper (gold- and silver-coloured). Unvarnished side of bamboo sticks can be seen through semi-transparent layer of paper.

Top and bottom edges of front layer and edges around cut-out sections have been painted with a thin line of gold-coloured paint.

Sticks and guards held together by rivet with black-lacquered, domed heads on either side.

18 sticks and 2 guards; Currently the two sticks on the left side of the fan, adjacent to the left guard, are tied to it in three places with thin silk? thread (of same colour as lacquered wood) in order to serve as a splint for the guard which is broken at its narrowest point.