SCALA / ART RESOURCE, NY
A flabellum (plural: flabella) is a ceremonial fan. Widely used across the Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds already by the second millennium BCE, it is attested in numerous artistic and textual depictions and through surviving examples.
The fan typically consisted of a head with an elongated flange at its base, which then was set in a long shaft. Whereas the shaft was typically wood, the head was covered with metal foil or made of solid metal. Heads could be richly ornamented with bands of friezes in silver or gold, with gilding, etched or embossed scenes, and inlaid precious stones. Flabella were held in both hands.
This example from ancient Egypt is one of eight found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (d. 1324 BCE). Both the handle and the head are made of wood covered with gold foil. The head, which measures about 7 inches wide, is decorated with an embossed and chased scene of the pharaoh hunting ostriches from his chariot and was originally ornamented with 42 real ostrich feathers inserted in holes around its semicircular outer edge. The reverse side (not shown) pictures Tutankhamun’s triumphal return. It was used in royal processions and religious ceremonies.
As early as the fourth century CE, flabella were used by the Christian church as liturgical implements in the celebration of mass. They served the practical function of keeping flying insects away from the Eucharist, but they also appeared on either side of the papal chair in solemn processions.
A flabellum (plural: flabella) is a ceremonial fan. Widely used across the Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds already by the second millennium BCE, it is attested in numerous artistic and textual depictions and through surviving examples. The fan typically consisted of a head with an elongated flange at its base, which then was set in a long shaft. Whereas the shaft was typically wood, the head was covered with metal foil or made of solid metal. Heads could be richly ornamented with bands of friezes in silver or gold, with gilding, etched or embossed scenes, and inlaid precious stones. Flabella […]
