Hand fan - Wood, Paper

This item is a hand screen (also known as a face screen or hand fire screen), a vintage accessory dating mainly to the Victorian era or the 19th century.
Unlike ordinary fans used to cool oneself, these rigid screens were used to protect ladies' faces from the direct heat of the fireplace.
At the time, cosmetics were often wax-based, and prolonged exposure to heat risked "melting" the makeup.
Main Features
Rigid Structure: The circular or shaped screen is usually made of pressed cardboard or lacquered papier-mâché.
Decoration: It features an applied image (likely one of the earliest lithographic prints) or hand-painted with bucolic scenes, exotic birds (such as peacocks) or classic landscapes.
Handle: A long handle in turned and ebonyed wood (stained black to imitate ebony), designed to keep the screen at a safe distance from the face.
Central Screen: Made of pressed papier-mâché.
This lightweight material was perfect to avoid tiring the arm during use in front of the fireplace.
Illustrated Covering: A sheet of printed paper applied to the papier-mâché.
The graphics depict a bucolic landscape with blue and purplish tones.
Perimeter Frame: The outer circular edge is finished with gold leaf gilding or metallic gold-colored paint, which served to embellish the object.
Handle: Entirely in turned wood and subsequently stained black (ebonized) to imitate the precious ebony wood.