Lot 323

19th C. Carved Coconut Vessel - Palm Tree Tropical Scene

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Lot 323
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19th C. Carved Coconut Vessel - Palm Tree Tropical Scene
19th C. Carved Coconut Vessel - Palm Tree Tropical Scene
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19th C. Carved Coconut Vessel - Palm Tree Tropical Scene

Estimate: $500 - $750

Starting Bid: $250

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT (In Progress)
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Tropical Americas or Pacific, ca. 1850–1920 CE. A whole coconut transformed into a sculptural curio, its dark husk incised with a continuous frieze of palm trees whose feathered fronds arc across the rounded surface. The carver has worked with a fine point, scratching through the polished outer skin to reveal the paler fiber beneath, so that each leaflet and trunk reads as a delicate tonal drawing rather than a deep relief. Clusters of fruit nestle at the bases of the trees, and slender vertical bands of braided rope or twisted vine separate the vignettes, lending the composition a rhythmic, almost cartographic order.

Carved coconuts of this kind belong to a broad folk tradition that flourished across the tropical belt in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, produced by sailors, plantation workers, and itinerant craftsmen in the Caribbean, coastal Latin America, and Oceania. They were sold as souvenirs to travelers passing through colonial ports, prized for the way a humble botanical husk could be elevated into a portable landscape. The palm-tree motif here, self-referential and faintly punning, is among the most common conceits of the genre: the fruit of the palm engraved with the image of its parent tree.

Whether intended as a dipper, a money box, or simply a decorative bibelot for a parlor shelf, the object carries the warmth of a maker working close to hand, patient with a blade and attentive to the curve of the shell. Size: 4.3" D x 3.8" H (10.9 cm D x 9.7 cm H).

Provenance: ex-private collection, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA, collected from 2010 to 2015

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Item # 198488

  • Condition: Excellent. Some small nicks to surface and a few light scratches. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressive remaining detail.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000