Triumph of Alexander

Folding fan, Triumph of Alexander, vellum fan leaf painted with watercolours, ivory sticks with silver piqué work and guards, Italy, 1690-1700. Folding fan with a leaf of vellum painted in watercolours with a scene depicting Alexander's entry into Babylon. The sticks and guards are made of ivory. The end sticks are decorated with silver piqué work, setting patterns of tiny silver nails or dots into the ivory. The reverse of the fan leaf is painted with flowers. The main design is taken from one of a set of five paintings Charles Le Brun created for Louis XIV between 1661 and 1668. The fan painter has adapted the composition of the painting, shifting the groups of figures slightly so that the scene fits the curved shape of the leaf. Other adaptations made to Le Brun’s design are that the red and gold cloak worn by Alexander has been painted cobalt blue and his golden helmet is crowned with red plumes. The fan shows Alexander, holding a sceptre topped by Victory, standing in a chariot drawn by an elephant covered by a decorative blue textile. He is accompanied by a number of different figures, including three men on horseback and two men on foot carrying a large metallic urn on a stretcher. To the left of the foreground stands a golden statue of Semiramis and in the background the terraces of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon can be seen.  Gouache on vellum, with carved and pierced ivory with silver piqué and mother-of-pearl.