Lot 96
96
A GROUP OF SIX CONTINENTAL COQUILLA NUT OBJECTS

LATE 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Details
A GROUP OF SIX CONTINENTAL COQUILLA NUT OBJECTS
late 18th/early 19th century
Comprising a box in the form of a rotund gentleman and enclosing ivory pegs, an acorn-form nut grinder, a hot water urn-form spice box, a grimacing insect-form box carved with wolf's head, warrior portrait and war trophy, an ornament with grimacing mustachoed face carved with classical figures, one boy's head missing, and a box with a grotesque head carved with grapes vines (6)

Lot Essay

Coquilla nuts, from the attalea funifera palm (or 'piassaba') were imported into Europe from South America from the mid-sixteenth century or earlier. They are characterized by a hard, brittle surface which polishes easily and were a popular material for carved, pierced and turned objects. The more amusing figures and grotesques are thought to be of German origin. Similar examples are illustrated in E.H.Pinto, Treen, 1949, p.46 and figs.57 and 81.