Coconut Cup

This richly decorated Renaissance cup is the type of object that would have been found in sixteenth and early seventeenth-century galleries of art and curiosities. The bowl is made from a coconut shell carved with three scenes from the biblical story of the Prodigal Son. Illustrations of this kind are consistent with the work of German and Southern Netherlandish engravers of the time; one of the scenes can be traced to a print by Hans Sebald Beham. The cup was prized both for its finely crafted reliefs and because the coconut itself was rare and exotic in early sixteenth-century Europe.

The silver rim is beautifully decorated in the Renaissance style, with heads and human figures engraved in the open medallions of the scroll cartouches. The cover is surmounted by a small figure in the form of Minerva. Considering the materials, the craftsmanship and the nature of its decoration, the cup could have been displayed among the artificialia (unusual works of art) or naturalia (exotic natural objects) collected by sovereigns and wealthy citizens of the time.