This fan of silk gauze on wooden sticks and guards, painted in tempera colours and gold and silver, is probably the work of a court painter attached to the royal palace in Mandalay, where the fan is said to have been found in 1885, after the annexation of Upper Burma and the exile of the last king of Burma, King Thibaw.
The fan depicts the last King of Burma, Thibaw Min, with his principal consort, Queen Supayalat, attended by courtiers and ladies, dressed in the court costumes of the period, witnessing an outdoor play (known as a <i>zat-pwe</i>) performed by actors and musicians in the Royal Gardens of the Palace at Mandalay.Painted fan of silk gauze upon wooden sticks and guards, Mandalay, ca. 1880Fan of silk gauze upon wooden sticks and guards, and painted in tempera colours, gold and silver. The fan sticks are plain.
Buff coloured silk decorated with the subject of the last King of Burma, Thibaw Min, with his principal consort Queen Supayalat attended by courtiers and ladies, dressed in the court costumes of the period, witnessing an al-fresco play (zat-pwe) performed by actors and musicians in the Royal Gardens of the Palace at Mandalay.