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Lot 326

A Seychelles coco-de-mer nut
(Lodoicea maldivica)

Period Design
7 December 2010, 11:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £720 inc. premium

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A Seychelles coco-de-mer nut

(Lodoicea maldivica)
on a modern perspex stand, 25cm high, stand 51cm high

Footnotes

These palm tree nuts are unique to the Seychelles, and can still be found on the islands of Praslin and Curieuse but formerly occurred on St. Pierre, Chauve-Souris and Ile Ronde before becoming extinct. The palm grows to 25-34 metres tall and contains the largest seed in the plant kingdom. The fruit, often known as the sea coconut, was first seen floating in the sea by sailors who imagined it resembled a woman's disembodied buttocks. This fanciful association is reflected in one of the plant's archaic botanical names, Lodoicea Callipyge, deriving from the Greek word meaning 'beautiful rump'; the suffix 'Callipyge' was also used to describe the goddess Venus/Aphrodite.

Until the true source of the nut was discovered in 1768, it was believed by many to grow on a mythical tree at the bottom of the sea. European nobles in the sixteenth century would often have the shell of these nuts cleaned and decorated with valuable jewels as collectables for their private galleries

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