

Bell-shaped fan with handle and blade in one piece, cut from the spathe of plant Areca catechu. Decorated with a tree design and inscribed. The vertical inscriptions “時在辛未仲夏五月, shí zài xīn wèi zhòng xià wǔ yuè” may represent the time when the maker made this fan. It is clear that the fan was made in May, in summer, in the Xinwei year, the eighth year in a cycle of 60 years in the Chinese system. The Xinwei year may refer to the year 1931 (the 20th Year since the Republic of China was established). The two characters “偶筆, ǒu bǐ” in the left vertical column literally mean that the maker jotted the inscription.