Hand fan

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19th century depiction of a Japanese folding fan with a poem on its open surface.

Fig. 3. Bengalese fan used in Indian homes. The handle is made of wood, the fan part of silk and satin. The first fans used in India were made of palm leaves. They were used against flies, also a tail of the yak (Tibetan steer)) was used for this purpose,

A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan. But generally, purpose-made hand-held fans are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (such as paper or feathers) mounted on slats which revolve around a pivot so that it can be closed when not in use.
The movement of a hand-held fan provides cooling by increasing the airflow over the skin which in turn increases the evaporation rate of sweat droplets on the skin. This evaporation has a cooling effect due to the latent heat of evaporation of water. Fans are convenient to carry around, especially folding fans.