Hello! I recently acquired this hand fan in small New Orleans town at a dusty old antique shop. The owner was a friend of a friend, and we got to talking and we really clicked. She told me how she selling the store and moving back to Georgia with her sister to retire and she had a lot of valuables she needed to get rid of. I had mentioned myself having several collectible fans back at home, and she was like "I bet you've never seen one like this before," and brought this fan out. It's a beautiful fan that is made of old dried palm leaves. It has patterns actually burned into the leaves. I can't tell what the sticks/bottom is though. She didn't have much idea of what it was either. They have kind of porous looking stripes/pits in them, and someone told me that was an indicator of bone. But someone also told me that if the surface was shiny, that was an indicator of ivory, and it definitely has shine to it. But then again, they are kind of fragile and it looks like one of them broke in half but got glued back with something, so again, I'm not too sure.
I asked her the story behind it and she said that she has carried that around with her for at least 50 years, and that it was given to her by someone who said they had had it for at least another 50 years. She said that the other person got it from someone else as well and was told that it was very sacred and valuable. She didn't know of it's origins though. She just kept telling me that it was very special. When I told her I'd buy it, she was super reluctant to part with it, but since she was selling the store and retiring, she agreed. She actually teared up when she handed it over to me.
I can't find ANYTHING about this fan. I've looked in numerous books and online but can't find a single thing. I read something about palm leaves being used in India, but can't find anything close to what this fan is. It is really old but in suprisingly good condition which is nice. It's beautiful and you can tell the owners took really good care of it. I love it as well but I want it to go to someone who will really appreciate it. I've been traveling a lot and I don't want it to become just another "thing" I have, so that's why I really want an appraisal and some info so I can get this to where it really needs to be :)
So does anyone know anything about it or maybe where I could possibly find out about it? I would really like to know the origins and where it was made and how old it is and it's value. One person suggested that it was of Pacific origin and another hinted at maybe a Hindu pattern? Anyways, thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments.
