This ceremonial fan originally held ostrich feathers. It is made of wood covered with sheets of gold and inlaid with coloured glass, turquoise, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and translucent calcite.
The handle is inset with gold bands at intervals. The palm of the fan is decorated with the king’s twin cartouches, which are protected by vultures wearing the White and Red Crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively.
Several signs are represented: “Was” symbolizing “dominion”; the Shen, symbolizing “eternity”; the “Nebu,” meaning “gold”; and Pet, for “sky.”
From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
