A COCO DE MER SEYCHELLES, FIRST HALF OF 20TH CENTURY

the giant seed of yonic form, characteristically composed of two kidney-shaped parts flanking the central husks, patinated to a smooth surface of dark chocolate tone

Known as the largest seed in the world, the coco de mer is unique to two Seychellian islands, Praslin and Curieuse. It takes six to seven years to mature, and another two years to germinate.

Prior to the discovery of the Seychelles, it was believed that coco de mer were grown on mythical trees at the bottom of the sea, as these mysterious nuts were sometimes carried by the ocean currents to distant shores. In the 16th century, there was a fashion amongst European aristocrats to clean and decorate the shells of these hollowed nuts with precious jewels.

In light of the characteristic yonic form of the coco de mer seed resembling a female buttock, there had been abundant fanciful associations with the nut historically, as reflected in one of the plant's archaic botanical names, Lodoicea callipyge, meaning 'beautiful rump' in Greek.