Rare and Unusual Blonde Specimen of a Seychelles ‘Coco de Mer’
A Rare and Unusual Blonde Specimen of a Seychelles ‘Coco de Mer’
Possessing both a female and a male side
19th Century
Size: 28cm high, 20cm wide – 11 ins high, 8 ins wide
See Finch & Co catalogue no. 3, item no. 35, for another blonde example
Possessing both a female and a male side
19th Century
Size: 28cm high, 20cm wide – 11 ins high, 8 ins wide
See Finch & Co catalogue no. 3, item no. 35, for another blonde example
‘Coco de Mer’ come from a tall palm tree that is indigenous to the Seychelles Islands. They are the largest known seed in the world and take 8 to 10 years to ripen.
The palm was erroneously called ‘Lodoicea Maladivica’ by the botanist Rumphius after observing the double nuts floating around the Maldives Islands. In fact they are not related to the coconut palm, but to the Palmyrah of Sri Lanka, and were discovered in 1743 on the Seychelles Island of Praslin by the Frenchman Barre.
The source of many legends and mysteries they have always been prized for their exotic and shapely beauty and thought to be powerful aphrodisiacs. European sailors would find them floating gracefully in the warm seas of the Indian Ocean and so named them ‘Coco de Mer’.
The palm was erroneously called ‘Lodoicea Maladivica’ by the botanist Rumphius after observing the double nuts floating around the Maldives Islands. In fact they are not related to the coconut palm, but to the Palmyrah of Sri Lanka, and were discovered in 1743 on the Seychelles Island of Praslin by the Frenchman Barre.
The source of many legends and mysteries they have always been prized for their exotic and shapely beauty and thought to be powerful aphrodisiacs. European sailors would find them floating gracefully in the warm seas of the Indian Ocean and so named them ‘Coco de Mer’.
Rare and Unusual Blonde Specimen of a Seychelles ‘Coco de Mer’
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