Given the vast demand for luxury goods for use at court, the production of fine fans flourished in Paris during the 17th century. The rare selection from the time of Louis XIV presented in this sale was part of a larger collection assembled over a period of 26 years by the French dealer and collector Sylvain Lévy-Alban. Fans were delicate and ephemeral objects, these survive because they were mounted and framed as pictures.
By the end of the century, the hand-painted decoration of fans had evolved from purely ornamental patterns into more elaborate figurative subjects. The designs offer a wide range of representations, from allegorical and mythological compositions to depictions of contemporary events and royal occasions. They provide a genuine flavor of life at court: its rituals, its curiosity about the Far East, and the many interior details of furnishings and decorations, as well as of gardens and festivities.