Warehouse 13, Tessen Fan Artifact

original movie prop

As fifth season premiere episode Endless Terror opens, Claudia confronts Paracelsus for control of the Warehouse. As they maneuver through the aisles, Paracelsus causes an antique Japanese war fan, once the property of a kamikaze pilot and now imbued with his spirit, to unfold and attack Claudia.

Tessen (literally 'iron fans') were one of three types of war fan originally created by the samurai of feudal Japan. Crafted with heavy iron plates for the outer spokes, tessen fans could be taken places swords and other overt weapons were not allowed, and could be used offensively as well as defensively to deflect arrows and darts. The martial art of fighting with war fans is known as tessenjutsu.

Full-size folding fan with cast iron outer spokes and lacquered bamboo inner spokes, on a leather cord. Not a perfect screen match;  the fan levitating and flying through the air would have been all CGI. Also, this style of war fan is actually a gunsen, not a tessen.

From VIP Fan Auctions & NBCUniversal.