A Russian Marriage Fan, circa 1851, a very rare and extravagant ivory fan, the guards mounted in three colours of gold and encrusted with diamonds and sapphires, formed as fleur de lys, under which the ivory is minutely carved with a lattice and further designs. Each guard features an upper raised oval with entwined initials WV in diamonds, a coronet with diamonds and sapphires above, which is thought to be appropriate to a Russian prince or princess. At the shoulder, a raised circular panel, the diamonds here enclosed in the form of a rose with many petals. The gorge is carved with a coat of arms, thought to be the arms of two families combined upon marriage. The motto "Semper Immota Fides" meaning "Always unwavering loyalty" is carved below.
The double paper leaf is marked on the verso Alexandre and signed Ed Moreau.
The recto, painted with views of Odessa, Sebastopol and the Chateau D'Alhambre at Yalta, the names below each view, is further painted with a male and female profile in costume that predates the fan. Another smaller profile on a green background is central to the upper border. The reserves are painted in gold with birds, foliage and berries.
The verso, again divided into three, has a central cartouche of winged cherubs frolicking on a cloud, having gathered flowers to make garlands. Cupid's quiver and arrows can be seen to the right, with a pair of white doves in flight above. To each side are further views, to the left a bay with buildings and a lighthouse, the signature of Alexandre just outside this and within the lattice border at the edge of the leaf. The right hand scene is of a harbour with rigged boats drawn up on a beach. The signature Ed Moreau (Edouard Moreau 1825 to 1878, known for painting high quality fans) is to the right just before the lattice border. The reserves, with a white background, are painted in white and pink with blousy roses, and the upper border features two roundels with cherubs silhouetted against gold.
Guard length 10 inches or 25.5cm
In original black velvet and cream silk lined fitted oak box.
Provenance: When this fan was purchased in the UK in 2004, it was described as bearing the initials MM for Maria de Monigo, linking it to the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III of France. It had been featured in the June 1945 edition of the Connoisseur in an advertisement for the stock of the London retailer Wartski, then of Regent Street, London. A copy of this magazine is held in the British Library.
However, the vendor conducted her own research and offers the following alternative: the fan was ordered from the jeweller Mellerio, still at 9 rue de la Paix, Paris. A copy of a letter received from them since purchase encloses diagrams of designs for guards, the central one of which is for this fan. In "Eventails" by Francoise de Pertuis and Vincent Meylan, these designs are reproduced and stated to be copied from the Mellerio archives, and attributed to an order placed by Queen Marie-Amelie of France (1782 - 1866), and thus perhaps for a wedding present. Research then moved to the initials, and views on the leaf. Examination of Russian heraldry led the vendor to believe that the Arms belong to both Madame Stolypina, née Princess Trubetskaya, and Semyon Mikhailovich Voronsov , married on the 26th August 1851. Copies of the relevant research relating to the Coats of Arms, family history and the building central to the recto are available. The motto is believed to belong to the Counts Woronzow (Vorontsov). The Vorontsov family appear to have bought up vast tracts of land near Yalta in order to build.
See also pages 149 to 153 of "Fächer" by Marie-Luise and Günter Barisch for another fine jewelled fan by Mellerio.
