The Fan Museum
Entering the Fan Museum feels like visiting someone’s home (albeit someone’s very grand home), which makes sense seeing as the museum was borne out of the enthusiasm and dedication of one woman and her personal collection of historic fans.
Hélène Alexander, originally from Alexandria, Egypt and now into her nineties, began collecting fans when she lived in London as a student in the 1950s. She remembers buying them cheaply at Portobello Road Market, sensing a value in their craftsmanship and curiosity where others did not.
Her knowledge of fans and their history gradually grew, and over the next decades she amassed a significant collection. In the 1980s Hélène set her sights on creating a museum as a permanent home for her collection - a pioneering ambition which would see the establishment of the world’s first fan museum in 1991. The museum today is still on the same premises, a converted town house in Greenwich which Hélène and her husband transformed from a damp and derelict tenement into a setting as elegant as the fans it displays.
In the permanent galleries on the ground floor visitors are introduced to the main types of fan and learn about the materials and manner of their production.
The flag fan from c.1590 was acquired by the Museum in 2020.
One of the first artefacts on display is a 16th century “flag fan” from Venice. Flag fans were made from small rectangular panels mounted onto rods or spindles around which the “flag” would turn. Fans like this were not just for creating a breeze or dispelling irritating insects, they could be portable works of art, indicating the affluence and refined taste of their owners. The rectangular panels were ideal for displaying miniature artworks, often inspired by known paintings or engravings. The example on display at the Fan Museum is painted on both sides, one showing a scene of Venus, Cupid and a Satyr, taken from an engraving by the Flemish artist Rafael Sadeler.
In the same gallery visitors can see the kind of materials used in fan making, such as horn, mother of pearl and ivory. Thin pieces of these materials were used to create the leaves of “brisé” fans, which are constructed from a stack of identical leaves which spread out to form a typical fan shape. In this exquisite example the ivory is carved so delicately that it resembles lace. A silk ribbon threads through the leaves to keep them together.
The fan on the left is a brisé fan with leaves made from ivory held together by a steel pin. A silk ribbon runs through the leaves to hold them together. It was made in China in the 1790s but intended for the foreign market.
Upstairs two rooms house a series of temporary exhibitions which change every two months, partly to ensure that the delicate fans do not fade or degrade whilst out of storage. The current exhibition, “Birds of a Feather” explores the use of feathers in fans.
At the centre of the first room is a striking display of oversized, ostrich feather fans, which seem almost too large to hold; here is where practical use gives way to pure performance. And perhaps it was the impact of such a performance that sparked Helene’s fascination with fans during her early childhood. In an interview in 2023 with World Of Interiors Magazine she commented: “I do remember being awe-struck by my grandmother coming down the stairs, all dressed to go to the Turkish court in Alexandria, set with an enormous black feather fan.”
“Birds of a Feather” will be replaced in mid-September by an exhibition on fans of Jane Austen’s era, one of the many special exhibitions being held at museums and galleries nationally to celebrate 250 years since the writer’s birth in 1775.
The Fan Museum adds something particularly charming and unique to the already rich array of cultural attractions in Greenwich. An hour or two provides ample time to thoroughly look at the galleries. Tickets cost £5 (£3 concessions) and children under six are free. The ticket includes an excellent audio guide which accompanies the permanent exhibition.
The Museum has made many resources available online such as this video from 2016 where Hélène Alexander discusses her collection and the establishment of the museum, these virtual exhibitions, and a searchable database of the collection.
The Fan Museum, Greenwich
12 Crooms Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8ER
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am - 5pm (final admissions at 4:30pm)