Fans have been used since the days of antiquity. Egyptians pharaohs were fanned by their slaves with huge lotus leaves; ancient Greeks and Romans used their own versions, often trimming their fans with peacock feathers. The folding or pleated fan is thought to have been invented by the Japanese in about a.d. 700 and may have been modeled after the way a bat folds its wings. The fan served both practical and ceremonial functions in China and Japan. In China, it was especially popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was carried by both sexes as well as by members of many different social classes, from courtiers to warriors, during tea ceremonies and on stage. Some of the most talented Asian painters applied their skill to the exquisite decoration of fans, an art that was not developed in Europe until the nineteenth century. During the Middle Ages in...