Antique fan display!?

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framing wench

Grumbler in Training
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May 19, 2009
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Hello. I have a customer with a number of European, antique fans. (valuable, hand-painted, carved shell etc.) Some are in their originally tailored display boxes; and other cases she had custom made in London. She does not have the info, nor want to go to the trouble of having them made across the pond, so here I am. I have a few companies that will tailor a frame in a fan shape, but turning it into a hinged display box is a whole other deal. Also, they have tailored, velvet-wrapped, moulded beds in which they lay.. Doable, but a LOT of work. I mentioned that the price would be in the 000's and I don't think she minds (the fans are very valuable). I'm worried that even with a really high price tag, by the end of it, it may not be worth it for us to take on, so I prob. want to outsource. Does anyone know who might specialize in this kind of work?
Not opposed to other suggestions either, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.
 

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So, are you looking for a shadow box or a frame? Does the box/frame need to be in the fan shape? Presto carries some as well; fan shaped frames.

Or are you going to make a complete shadow box with moulded bedding? In that case I assume the shadow box doesn't need to be in the fan shape.

Is this meant for display, or for storage? (might seem silly question, but I thought of it because of the molded bedding. If behind glass, you wouldn't need that molded bedding as protection I assume.
 
Oh my.....
attachment.php


exactly what I was looking for in Italy last year..... all I saw was cheap plastic from Yu Kno Whar...

from your expression "across the pond" that you are somewhere near Lancaster or the Midlands.....

in which case..... fan cases are definitely "from across the pond'.

I some some nice ones in Cadiz..... Presto..... FATP. sorry.
 
Welcome to the Grumble, Framing Wench. Baer wrote a really
good article about framing fans in Decor a few months ago.
He made the silky fabric loose and softly bunched, to look
more interesting, and covered the side strips in the same way.
Also had a good suggestion for how to cut the glass to a fan
shape. I don't know if he's willing to dish here, or if you'll need
to get a copy, but it's certainly worth it.
 
object-custom-framing.html

this was a fun job and the customer loved the way ot looked.
i think i should have added another 4 hrs labor to the job :shrug:
 
fan (2).jpg

ooops , heres the picture
 
Hey, thanks everyone. Sorry it took me a while to get back. Checked out over the holiday..

To respond to some of the inquiries:
I'm in California. (Confusing, sorry, just throwing in some silly jargon.)
Framing is for both display and storage - which makes it tricky.. glass front, but able to open and remove object. Box with latch to sit on table top.
I'll take a look again, but I'm afraid presto and inline just aren't high-end enough, and I 'd still need a base. Customer wants something totally custom - tailored to the shape of the fan. I guess I could mould the interior with some type of styrofoam? although this does not seem archival.. even with an archival fabric buffer.

Thanks Shayla - I will look for Baer's article.

Nice job Trinity.. does look labor intensive.. that one doesn't open does it?

Thanks again. My quest continues.. f.w.
 
framing wench said:
... glass front, but able to open and remove object. Box with latch to sit on table top...and I 'd still need a base. Customer wants something totally custom - tailored to the shape of the fan...
Click to expand...

You could build a frame with, say, 12 sides. The bottom and side rails could be cut and assembled as usual, with a curved top consisting of 10 carefully-mitered pieces.

For tabletop display, you could build a rectangular base out of matching or complementary moulding, and fabricate a stand for the fan as part of the base. Formed rods in a V shape might work nicely, with hooks to capture the sides of the fan.

The frame could amount to only a cover, to be lifted off the base for easy access to the fan. If you want it to be a see-through frame, you could use back-to-back shallow mouldings glued and/or screwed together. You could also assemble them using rare-earth magnets.

You could also make a really nice base with mounting supports for the fan, and use a lift-off acrylic box as a cover.
Jobs like this are fun, eh?
 
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