Unidentified artists
Coconut-Shell Cup (Coco chocolatero)17th-18th century

Not on view

Two-handled cup with a dark engraved coconut shell body mounted in silver, with cornucopia handles, beaded bands, and a splayed silver pedestal foot

Carved coconut shell cup mounted in silver, with engraved scrollwork on the body, a beaded silver band at the rim, leaf-form silver foot, and ornate silver handles in the form of cornucopias with floral and laurel garland details.

Close-up detail of a silver vessel handle featuring an openwork design with a cornucopia motif, leafy branches, and a border of small repousséflowers, attached to an engraved silver body.

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artists
Title: Coconut-Shell Cup (Coco chocolatero)
Place Made: Mexico or Guatemala
Date Made: 17th-18th century
Medium: Polished and engraved coconut shell and silver
Dimensions: 5 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 2 1/2 in. (13.3 × 12.1 × 6.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, in memory of Charles B. Tate
Accession Number: M.2015.69.2
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Coconut-shell cups used for drinking hot chocolate were ubiquitous in Spanish American and Spanish elite households. Fine examples, such as this one, were delicately carved, polished, and fitted with silver bases and handles. This cup is distinctive for its cornucopia handles and the intricate scrolling floral motif on the shell, displaying an excellent level of craftmanship. The engraved inscription at the top of the cup reads, “Sirvo a Doña Manuela Batres” (I serve Doña Manuela Batres), identifying both its purpose and its owner.

Cacao trees were native to the Americas, and before the arrival of Europeans, Mesoamerican nobility drank frothy chocolate. The coconut palm, however, was introduced to Mexico from Asia in the sixteenth century. The appeal of both the exotic coconut cups and the precious drink made these objects highly desirable luxury exports.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Provenance: Estate of Lafayette “Lafe” Pence Speirs, Los Angeles; Abell Auction Company, Commerce, California, 2003; Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, 2003; LACMA, 2015.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024

Related Exhibitions

Unidentified artists
Coconut-Shell Cup (Coco chocolatero)17th-18th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artists
Title: Coconut-Shell Cup (Coco chocolatero)
Place Made: Mexico or Guatemala
Date Made: 17th-18th century
Medium: Polished and engraved coconut shell and silver
Dimensions: 5 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 2 1/2 in. (13.3 × 12.1 × 6.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, in memory of Charles B. Tate
Accession Number: M.2015.69.2
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Coconut-shell cups used for drinking hot chocolate were ubiquitous in Spanish American and Spanish elite households. Fine examples, such as this one, were delicately carved, polished, and fitted with silver bases and handles. This cup is distinctive for its cornucopia handles and the intricate scrolling floral motif on the shell, displaying an excellent level of craftmanship. The engraved inscription at the top of the cup reads, “Sirvo a Doña Manuela Batres” (I serve Doña Manuela Batres), identifying both its purpose and its owner.

Cacao trees were native to the Americas, and before the arrival of Europeans, Mesoamerican nobility drank frothy chocolate. The coconut palm, however, was introduced to Mexico from Asia in the sixteenth century. The appeal of both the exotic coconut cups and the precious drink made these objects highly desirable luxury exports.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Provenance: Estate of Lafayette “Lafe” Pence Speirs, Los Angeles; Abell Auction Company, Commerce, California, 2003; Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, 2003; LACMA, 2015.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024