Coconut Cup with Biblical Scenes from the Life of David
1577-78
Medium
Gilded silver and coconut shell
Dimensions
22.9 × 11.2 × 11.6 cm (9 × 4 3/8 × 4 9/16 in.)
Classification
silver
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
74879
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Coconuts, a precious curio from the New World, were so highly prized in Europe during the early modern era that they were fashioned into elegant vessels by silversmiths. They made noteworthy additions to princely curiosity cabinets and may also have served a medicinal purpose. John Parkinson’s Theatrum Botanicum (1640), for instance, credits wine drunk from a coconut with curing colic, epilepsy, and rheumatoid disorders.
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...