Provenance:
Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno (1857– 1911) and
Doña Luisa Piñeyro de Lugo y Merino (Sra. de Paterno, d. 1897)

ABOUT THE WORK

A “yu–shan” or feather fan is one of the oldest types of Chinese hand fans. This particular example has an auspicious 35 (3 + 5 = 8) light blue feathers mounted on an ivory handle by a connector concealed by flowers in knotted silk. There is a romantic but erroneous story to this fan suggesting that the delicate bouquet of flowers painted with oil directly on the feathers was probably by a Filipino artist in Paterno’s circle in Madrid (Esteban Villanueva y Vinarao, Miguel de Zaragoza, Felix Martinez, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Juan Luna). However, such painted floral decorations were characteristic of Chinese hand fans, whether of silk, feather, leather, paper, etc. What is correct and certain was that this fan was at Paterno’s “La Casa Molo” in Madrid and was indeed used in the company of all those illustrious Filipino expatriates. As it was contemporary with Paterno’s time (1880s, late Qing dynasty) it was not yet an antique, and was probably used for everyday by Doña Luisa Piñeyro, Sra. de Paterno. This “yu–shan” Chinese feather fan with delicate handpainted decoration was thought lost to time until it resurfaced with a group of singular objects owned by Don Pedro Paterno from the estate of his wife Doña Luisa Piñeyro y Merino in Spain. It was well–documented in photographs as one of the Oriental decorative pieces Paterno used to exhibit in his Filipino pavilions during international expositions. The objects remained in the Piñeyro residence when the childless Paterno couple returned to Filipinas in the 1890s; Doña Luisa passed away in Manila in 1897; Don Pedro passed away 14 years later in 1911. The Piñeyro family did not express any interest to claim anything from Don Pedro’s estate. With its reappearance, the circle of provenance has been completed.