Coconut Cup / Artist Unknown, Germany
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1969/2.36
- Title
- Coconut Cup
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, Germany
- Artist Nationality
- German
- Medium and Support
- coconut shell with gilded silver
- Object Creation Date
- 2nd half of 16th century
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Germany (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Germany (nation)
- Credit Line
- The Paul Leroy Grigaut Memorial Collection
- Style/Group/Movement
- Mannerist
- Dimensions
- 30.3 cm x 9 cm x 9 cm (11 15/16 in. x 3 9/16 in. x 3 9/16 in.)
- Century
- 16th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Decorative Arts
- Primary Object Type
- cup
- Secondary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Secondary Object Type
- cup
- Physical Description
- This cup is fashioned from a coconut shell set in a shallow bowl supported on a long, narrow stem and held in place by three straps and a tall neck band. The shallow domed lid has a plain, overhanging rim and terminates in a finial with a statuette of a nude sea nymph and serpent. The metalwork is densely decorated with various masks, animals, fantastic creatures, and vegetal ornament.
- Subject Matter
- This richly decorated cup combines precious metalwork with the shell of an exotic fruit, a coconut, to create a marvelous artwork that would have manifested the status of its owner. The embossed and engraved decoration of the metalwork teems with vegetal motifs, fish, deer, a horse, and fantastic creatures suggestive of the bounty of nature.
- Primary Keywords
- bony fish
- coconut cups
- coconuts
- cups
- deer
- drinking vessels
- eagles
- horses
- mascarons
- scrolling foliage
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- birds
- containers
- containers by function or context
- containers for serving and consuming food
- culinary containers
- cups by form
- descriptors
- design elements
- figure- and animal-derived motifs
- food
- fruit
- mammals
- materials
- materials by function
- motifs
- mounted cups
- objects we use
- patterns (design elements)
- patterns by specific type
- scrollwork
- standing cups
- vessels for serving and consuming food
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 495 x 1199
- File Size
- 54 KB
- Record
- 1969/2.36
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1969-sl-2.36/1969_2.36.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1969-SL-2.36:1969_2.36.JPG
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"Coconut Cup; Artist Unknown, Germany." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1969-sl-2.36/1969_2.36.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.