Portret van een staande vrouw, leunend op de leuning van een fauteuil 1861 - 1874

This is a portrait of a standing woman leaning on a chair, captured by Albert Greiner in the 19th century. Note the tassel hanging from the chair; a seemingly trivial ornament. Yet, such adornments have a long history. Tassels, since antiquity, have been used to signify rank, power, and prestige, adorning royal garments and religious vestments. These decorations carried not only aesthetic value but also symbolic weight, denoting the wearer’s status or connection to divine authority. Across various epochs, the symbolism of the tassel has subtly shifted, appearing in military uniforms, academic regalia, and even domestic settings like this chair. What was once strictly a marker of the elite now trickles down to embellish everyday objects. The emotional resonance, however, persists—an echo of grandeur. It whispers of tradition, of an inherited, albeit diluted, sense of importance. Here, in the hands of Greiner, the tassel on this chair subtly elevates the sitter, framing her within a lineage of dignity and presence. Observe how symbols like these engage our collective memory, evoking feelings that transcend their immediate context.