Largest seed in the world
Seychelles Island, 19th century
12″ x 12″ (not including stand)
Regarded as erotic objects for over three hundred years, coco de mer are the largest and heaviest known seed in the world. Originally found by chance drifting in the currents of the Indian Ocean they were believed to be an aphrodisiac because of their curiously suggestive female form. European sailors and merchant voyagers returning to port would gain a high price for their shapely double coconuts eagerly sought after by princely collectors. One of its archaic botanical names was Lodoicea callipyge which loosely translated means beautiful rump.
ex private Paris collection
