This light-hearted design for a panel above a mirror in a panelled interior suggests that the room that it was made for was one with access to the garden. Rococo design delighted in using everyday objects to create these 'trophies', much as weapons or armour had been used by earlier classical designers. The elegance of this carving would have made it a desirable acquisition as a model for carvers in the 19th century who were often charged with reproducing this form of earlier panelling. It is one of several hundred carvings given to the Museum in 1921 by Sir Charles Allom and his wife, in memory of their son, who died in the First World War. From 1893 Sir Charles headed White Allom & Co., one of the most successful firms of architectural decorators in Britain, specialising in the copying of historic styles. Between 1900 and 1914 he also began to work for clients in the United States and after the First World War he spent time in both countries. The collection of carvings seems to have been put together as a study collection for his son, perhaps in the expectation that he would follow in his father's footsteps and take over the firm.