Silk fan case containing folding paper and ivory fan. The fan is of black paper painted in gilt and watercolour, mounted on ivory slats and guards. The obverse leaf is decorated with flowering branches within a fan-shaped panel, bordered with key-fret pattern. The panel is surrounded with the shou character and bat and coin motifs, which are respectively the symbols of longevity, happiness and wealth. The reverse leaf is inscribed with a poem set within a fan-shaped panel bordered by key-fret pattern. Surrounding the panels are motifs of two interlocking coins and two interlocking lozenges, which symbolise wealth and victory. The tapered cylindrical fan case has a ruyi-shaped top, and is made of blue and burgundy silk with stiffened paper interface, lined with green silk. The case fastens at the top with a burgundy silk cord loop handle and a porcelain bead painted in overglazed enamel with floral design. The exterior is embroidered with couched gilt metal thread, on one side with a ruyi sceptre head at the top, a flowering branch in the middle and the lishui, or standing water, pattern at the bottom. The other side features similar embroidery but with a bat inserted between the flowering branches. Either a man or a woman would have worn the case, suspended from a belt, in summer.
