Tortoise-shell is carved with the same consummate skill as ivory, and on the same principle of delicate piercing and ribbing. Two such fans occur in the Wyatt collection, profusely decorated in relief with figures of horsemen, buildings, boats, and flowers. The material, which is softened both by warm water and dry heat, is obtained from the loggerhead turtle of the Malay Archipelago and Indian Ocean, and imported to Canton, a centre both for tortoise-shell and ivory workers. An extremely effective and picturesque fan is that in the same collection, formed of the feathers of the Argus pheasant, cut short to the fan shape, the sticks of carved tortoise-shell. In this the colours of the feathers harmonise extremely well with the translucent red brown of the tortoise-shell. This material is also lacquered, one of the earliest and most prized of the Chinese arts, and the technique of which is fully described in the _Ko ku yao lun_, a learned work on antiquities published in the reign of Hung Wu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, 1387. This substance is obtained from the lac-tree (_Rhus vernicifera_), cultivated for the purpose throughout Central and Southern China. The tree exudes a resinous sap that becomes black upon its exposure to the air, the sap being extracted from the tree at night, during the summer months, and dried, ground, and strained through hempen cloth to an evenly flowing liquid, which is applied by the brush. Gold plays an important part both in the composition of the lacquer itself, to which it imparts a richness and pellucidity which is extremely beautiful, and also in its subsequent decoration. The fan and case of Canton lacquer in the Wyatt collection are richly decorated with panels of buildings and gardens, on a diapered background, overlaid with flowers, butterflies, and other devices, and are excellent examples of Chinese gold lacquer, an art which, although originating in China, has been somewhat neglected, and has, at a later period, been brought by the Japanese to a greater perfection than the Chinese have at any time attained. [Illustration: Lacquered Fan. Lady Northcliffe] [Illustration: Carved Ivory Fan, with name ‘Angela’. Mr W. Burdett-Coutts. M.P.] Sandalwood is largely employed for fans, on account of its lightness, the ease with which it is worked, and also its fine aroma. The tree is indigenous to India, and is imported by the Chinese, who employ it for a variety of purposes, including the perfumed joss-sticks which are common throughout the East. These fans are worked on the same principle of flat piercing as those of ivory. They are also carved in relief, but can scarcely be said to rival the last-named substance with its delicate variety of translucent softness. The large fan at South Kensington is a good example.