This tassel in silk and wool was designed to hold curtains to the wall (a curtain back) or to wind around the curtains, providing a decorative detail. It is one of three identical examples given to the Museum. The complex design shows three silk acorns (wound over a turned wooden base) increasing in size to the skirt of the tassel. The skirt and twisted cord at the top of the tassel are of plaited wool, the cord is threaded through a silk-covered woollen ball. This tassel is typical of the type of furnishing decoration popular in the middle of the 19th century.
Although it was always used in the homes of the wealthy, 'passementerie' (the collective name given to all types of curtain and furnishing decoration, for example fringes, braids and tassels) became very popular in 19th century Britain. British consumers followed the trend for French interior design, particularly the fashion for highly stuffed upholstered chairs with lots of decorative trimming. Tassels such as this example would have been expensive to buy and were used only in upper middle-class homes.