Silk passementerie tassel on a twisted cord, as a curtain tieback sourced from a French château.
Tassel 10 in, of which the skirt is 7 in.
The cord is a heavy plied silk rope in honey gold shot with madder red, worked with a large knotted boss above the tassel head.
The tassel is built on turned wooden forms in a stack. A small bead covered in a worked gold mesh sits at the top. Below it, a cylindrical neck closely wound in madder silk. Then a ball bound in madder with a crossed lattice of gold braid laid over it, a madder collar beneath, and a second and wider dome in the same worked mesh. A ring of knotted bosses in cream, gold and madder finishes the head, and the skirt falls from it.
The skirt is bullion, 7 in deep, in three colours run together — madder red, honey gold and cream — the twisted cords hanging full and close, some looping at the base rather than cut.
The colour has survived here to a degree . The madder is still red rather than gone to straw, and the gold and cream are still distinct from one another.
Passementerie of this construction is French work of the nineteenth century.
Tassel 10 in overall. Skirt 7 in deep.
CONDITION
Wear at the top of the madder neck, where the covering has lifted and a pale band shows beneath it, with a few loose fibres.
Surface abrasion along the cord, which has raised a light fuzz over parts of its length.
A few skirt cords pulled out of line, and minor fraying where the cord has been knotted.
The tassel is otherwise in good order . The skirt is full with no bald areas and no losses, every element of the head is present, the mesh over both domes is unbroken, the knotted bosses are complete and the colour is strong throughout.
DETAILS
Form — tassel on a twisted cord, as a curtain tieback
Tassel — 10 in overall (25.5 cm)
Skirt — 7 in deep (18 cm), bullion
Cord — length to be confirmed
Construction — turned wooden forms, mesh-covered bead and dome, madder-wound neck, gold strapwork over a madder ball, knotted boss ring, three-colour bullion skirt
Colour — madder red, honey gold and cream, well preserved
Provenance — French château, per the source
Date — 19th century (assessed; comparable work dated 1870s to 1890s by a specialist dealer)
Sold as — see the note on quantity below
Silk passementerie tassel on a twisted cord, as a curtain tieback sourced from a French château.
Tassel 10 in, of which the skirt is 7 in.
The cord is a heavy plied silk rope in honey gold shot with madder red, worked with a large knotted boss above the tassel head.
The tassel is built on turned wooden forms in a stack. A small bead covered in a worked gold mesh sits at the top. Below it, a cylindrical neck closely wound in madder silk. Then a ball bound in madder with a crossed lattice of gold braid laid over it, a madder collar beneath, and a second and wider dome in the same worked mesh. A ring of knotted bosses in cream, gold and madder finishes the head, and the skirt falls from it.
The skirt is bullion, 7 in deep, in three colours run together — madder red, honey gold and cream — the twisted cords hanging full and close, some looping at the base rather than cut.
The colour has survived here to a degree . The madder is still red rather than gone to straw, and the gold and cream are still distinct from one another.
Passementerie of this construction is French work of the nineteenth century.
Tassel 10 in overall. Skirt 7 in deep.
CONDITION
Wear at the top of the madder neck, where the covering has lifted and a pale band shows beneath it, with a few loose fibres.
Surface abrasion along the cord, which has raised a light fuzz over parts of its length.
A few skirt cords pulled out of line, and minor fraying where the cord has been knotted.
The tassel is otherwise in good order . The skirt is full with no bald areas and no losses, every element of the head is present, the mesh over both domes is unbroken, the knotted bosses are complete and the colour is strong throughout.
DETAILS
Form — tassel on a twisted cord, as a curtain tieback
Tassel — 10 in overall (25.5 cm)
Skirt — 7 in deep (18 cm), bullion
Cord — length to be confirmed
Construction — turned wooden forms, mesh-covered bead and dome, madder-wound neck, gold strapwork over a madder ball, knotted boss ring, three-colour bullion skirt
Colour — madder red, honey gold and cream, well preserved
Provenance — French château, per the source
Date — 19th century (assessed; comparable work dated 1870s to 1890s by a specialist dealer)
Sold as — see the note on quantity below
