Colonial Silver Mounted Coconut Cup

Carved dark oval with a crest and a tiny hanging hook.

This colonial silver mounted coconut cup is from Spain, and dates to the 19th century. It is shell & silver. Silver-mounted coconut shells were often made into cups in Europe from the Middle Ages onward, when the exotic nut was treated as a curiosity and given a precious setting. Egg-shaped dark brown pendant, its face carved in relief with a shield bearing a small animal, scrolling mantling and a figure above. A chain and swivel clip attach at the top, and the surface is glossy and worn.

Heraldry, shrunk down to pocket size.