'Waterloo: Life and Times' Exhibition

2015 marks the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and what better way to honour the occasion than an exhibition celebrating this tumultuous period in Europe’s history and its associated heroes (and villains!)

WATERLOO: LIFE & TIMES will feature fans and fan leaves designed to commemorate significant military campaigns, battles and victories associated with the period leading up to (and following) the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, at which the French were finally defeated by the Allied armies after twenty three years of fighting. The exhibition will include fans printed with portraits of heroic figures like Nelson and Wellington and fan leaves printed in England but destined for the overseas markets, such as those celebrating the accession to the throne of the Spanish King, Ferdinand VII. Napoleon Bonaparte and his troops, too, feature: depicted often in typically defiant mood on French propaganda fan designs.

Away from the ‘battle action’ the social scene at this time revolved around glittering balls and assemblies – events at which ladies carried elegant fans decorated with a plethora of sequins and delicately painted with classically themed vignettes; visitors can expect to see a glittering array of such styles dating c. 1800 - 1820. Interweaving historical narratives with fashion and decorative art objects, the exhibition offers a unique perspective on a period often overlooked in popular fan historiographies.

Located in the heart of historic Greenwich, The Fan Museum occupies two handsome Grade II listed Georgian townhouses – lovingly restored internally and externally. It is the only museum in the UK devoted in its entirety to the history of fans and the ancient craft of fan making. The museum’s founder Hélène Alexander is not only a leading authority on the history of fan-making but also a passionate collector, having amassed a priceless collection – arguably the largest in the country – of fans and related items. The museum houses in excess of 5,000 objects (not all on show at any one time) including works by Salvador Dali, Paul Gauguin and Walter Sickert.