Coco De Mer Shell on Display Stand, circa 1900s

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Coco De Mer Shell on Display Stand, circa 1900s

About the Item

This is a particularly fine symmetrical example of a rare 19th century Coco de Mer Shell which has been beautifully polished and mounted on a bespoke heavy base. The Nut and tree of the coco de mer is a rare species of palm tree native to the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean and through centuries has been the subject of various legends and lore. Coco de mer is endemic to the Seychelles islands of Praslin and Curieuse. Before the Seychelles were discovered and settled, nuts of this species were sometimes carried by the ocean currents to distant shores, such as those of the Maldives, where the tree was unknown. These floating nuts did not germinate. The exceptional size and suggestive form of the nut, the circumstances of its discovery, and some unusual qualities of the trees have given rise to several legends. The nut of the coco de mer is very large (the largest seed in the plant kingdom) and is oddly shaped, being the shape and size of a woman's disembodied buttocks on one side, and a woman's belly and thighs on the other side. Not surprisingly, this nut was viewed by people in other parts of the world as a rare and fascinating object with mythological and even magical properties. The nature and origin of this extraordinary nut was mysterious, and the propagation of the tree was not understood. A number of legends arose both about the nuts, and about the trees that produce them. The coco de mer palm has separate male and female trees, unlike the coconut palm. And, unlike the more familiar fruit of the coconut tree, the coco de mer fruit is not adapted to disperse naturally by floating on the ocean water. When a coco de mer fruit falls into the sea, it cannot float because of its great weight and density; instead it sinks to the bottom. However, after the fruit has been on the sea bed for a considerable period of time, the husk drops off, the internal parts of the nut decay, and the gases that form inside the nut cause the bare nut to rise up to the surface. At that time the nut can float, but is no longer fertile, thus when the ocean currents cause the nut to wash up on a distant beach, for example in the Maldives, a tree cannot, and does not, grow from the nut. The name coco de mer is French, and means "coconut of the sea".

Dimensions:
Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)Width: 11.82 in (30 cm)Depth: 7.49 in (19 cm)
Style:
Other (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
Seychelles
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1900s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Coco de mer shell Depth 19cm x Width 30cm x ht 30cm Base Width 20.2cm x Depth 19.4cm overall ht 44cm.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU286839952843

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