Attributed to Jacques Vigoureux Duplessis

As trade with East Asia increased in the late 1600s, European artists adapted Asian motifs and forms in a style known as chinoiserie. This semicircular French designs depicting an imagined Asian court would have been pleated and attached to ribs to make folding fans, a Japanese form. The drawing features a scene of grape harvesting and wine making. In the drawing on the bottom, figures partake in outdoor entertainment, encircling a juggler in the center of the composition. The artist made notes about court protocol on other fan designs, suggesting that they may refer to a specific event. This may have been a visit to Versailles in 1686 by the ambassadors of Siam (now Thailand). [see also: 1994.036.7]