Antique Face Fire Screen with Mother of Pearl 18th/19th Century

An antique handheld lacquered wood face screen to protect a lady’s face makeup from the heat of a hearth fire.

The screen has been covered in a black lacquer and decorated with a painted floral bouquet with a floral wreath edging. The design has mother of pearl accents inlaid into the central floral design and in the tiny flowers of the outer wreath. A wooden tooled handle is attached to the fan’s base using a brass nail. The handle has gold flecks in the finish.

15 1/8” (38.4 cm) tall x 11” (27.9 cm) wide x apx 1/8” (3 mm) thick. Handle is ½” (1.3 cm) in diameter. Weighs 5.4 oz (145 g)

The lacquer has crazing from age and heat, and there are lacquer and paint losses. The handle has much of the lacquer missing. The very top of the screen has a small chip. One mother of pearl flower on the right is missing. There are no cracks or breaks.

A very old artistic, handmade screen with an interesting story. After all, we wouldn’t want your face makeup to melt off.