Folding fan with a sheet of silk on which in gouache a company at a love altar with a burning heart and turtle doves and on both sides the balloon of the Montgolfier brothers surrounded by metal spangles, on a frame of bone inlaid with 'metal and quattre couleurs ', Folding fan, with a sheet of silk on which in gouache a company near a love altar with a burning heart and turtle doves and on both sides the balloon of the Montgolfier brothers surrounded by metal lovers, on a frame of bone inlaid with' métal and quattre couleurs '. In the early 1780s, silk and satin fan blades were adorned with lovers and sequins in fashion in France. Most preserved fans '(éventail) au ballon' therefore have a sheet of beige silk, painted representations and decorations of colored or not colored metal spangles. On the back of this single sheet, mounted à l'anglaise, the signature is still visible. The historic moment of the first balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers, on December 1, 1783, is usually depicted with the half-net striped balloon used for the flight, including a boat-shaped gondola with the brothers, each holding a stick with a hold a penny in their hand. The large central cartouche shows a show that has nothing to do with the balloon flight, namely, the well-known wedding theme portrayed with the help of traditional symbolism. A wedding altar with two burning hearts and two turtledoves surrounded by sacrificing people. The combination of 'marriage' with 'hot air balloon' nowadays seems rather unusual, but given the number of examples preserved, it should not have been perceived as strange by contemporaries., anonymous, France, c. 1783 - c. 1784, blad, schildering, lovers, montuur, sluitpin, grinding, s 51 cm × l 27.8 cm

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