Object TypeLate 19th-century Japanese export fans were made in a wide variety of materials and forms. This fan has a double leaf painted with a different design on either side. Although it has relatively simple bamboo sticks, the guards, which would have been visible even when the fan was closed, are very ornate. The use of ivory encrusted with hardstones and other materials was a style of workmanship especially popular in the West. The high level of ornamentation on export fans is very different from what is found on fans for the native Japanese market. The use of subject matter such as women wearing kimono is also more typical of export than domestic products.TimeThe opening up of Japan in the mid-1850s after more than two centuries of seclusion from the rest of the world triggered a huge expansion in the manufacture of export goods in various media. These were avidly bought by western collectors, artists and designers, and played a central role in the development of 'Japonisme' and then art nouveau.