This fan handle is made of two pieces of carved ivory that are screwed together. The handle itself is turned and decorated in red and black pigment with concentric forms; the mouth is densely carved with tightly scrolling leaf-work. The fan handle would have been a part of a vatapatha or semi-circular fan of the kind that are carried by Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka for processions and ceremonies. Large and beautifully ornamented fan handles such as this one would have been treasured and were also given to the monks as gifts.
