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Object Timeline
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1962 |
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2012 |
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2014 |
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2024 |
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Tassel (Italy)
This is a Tassel. It is dated 17th century and we acquired it in 1962. Its medium is linen and its technique is braided and knotted. It is a part of the Textiles department.
Tassels are typically made from richly colored, glossy silk. Passementerie, or the art of making tassels, fringes, pompoms and cords, is an early word for lace, and the bobbin lace technique is believed to have evolved from the making of braided silk and metal trimmings. This white linen tassel combine the skills of the passementier, braiding and knotting, with the materials and techniques of the lace-maker. One use for tassels such as these is for the cincture of the alb, a long white linen tunic worn under elaborate silk church vestments. Others are seen in Dutch portraits of the seventeenth century, fastening the necks of men’s shirts, hanging just below their elaborate lace falling collars. In Italian painting, they can be seen adorning domestic linens, while the largest examples may have found use in bed furnishings.
This object was
bequest of
Richard Cranch Greenleaf (American, 1887–1961).
It is credited Bequest of Richard Cranch Greenleaf in memory of his mother, Adeline Emma Greenleaf.
- Hanging, Prayer Wall
- linen, cotton.
- Gift of Momentum Group.
- 2013-48-1
- Drawing, A Salon in Restoration Taste
- brush and watercolor, gouache on white wove paper.
- Thaw Collection.
- 2007-27-6
- Trimming (Italy)
- silk.
- Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.
- 1902-1-968
Our curators have highlighted 9 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Window Shade (USA)
- machine-printed paper.
- Gift of Norman Hasselriis.
- 1980-45-6
- Hanging (USA)
- linen.
- Gift of Mary Walker Phillips.
- 1998-38-1
- Book Illustration, Novelties in Laces for Furniture and Decoration, Gland,...
- colored lithograph.
- Collection of Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
- SIL39088006099717
Its dimensions are
H x W: 17.8 x 9.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 in.)
Cite this object as
Tassel (Italy); linen; H x W: 17.8 x 9.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 in.); Bequest of Richard Cranch Greenleaf in memory of his mother, Adeline Emma Greenleaf; 1962-51-14
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Making Design.
