Cleveland Museum of Art

Wedding Fan

Date

mid-1800s

Medium

Copper alloy; satin weave silk; silk and metal thread embroidery; and paper

Culture

Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)

Department

Korean Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In the Joseon period, women between the ages of 14 and 20 were matched with a husband through an arranged marriage. Even during the marriage ceremony, a bride was supposed to veil her face with this type of embroidered fan as a gesture of chastity. The fan’s body is made of paper and silk trimmed with a gilded metal rim. On the front, four cranes—one pair in blue, the other in yellow—are stitched along with auspicious clouds. The back is adorned with dragons flying amid clouds. The metal band vertically running down the center is incised with a bat, a symbol of wealth. This fan was not to cool oneself, but rather to veil a bride's face during a wedding ceremony as a gesture of chastity.

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