A genuinely museum quality example of a 19th century English sailor’s folk art carved coconut shell cup, or ‘bugbear’. The carving of coconut shells during downtime was a common practice amongst sailors in the 18th and 19th century, but rarely do you see one as good and as historically interesting as this, with its extensive imagery featuring a religious cross, a fouled anchor (usually associated with the royal navy), a pair of crossed St George flags of England above the emblematic crown of queen Victoria, a love token heart (the piece was probably given as a gift on the sailors return to shore), a daisy wheel and two geometric motifs (one left unfinished!). The base is formed of a German coin, dated 1875, riveted to another inside the cup, through a piece of cork or wood- likely all things the maker picked up on his travels. H 9.5 cm x W 10 cm (approx)
A genuinely museum quality example of a 19th century English sailor’s folk art carved coconut shell cup, or ‘bugbear’. The carving of coconut shells during downtime was a common practice amongst sailors in the 18th and 19th century, but rarely do you see one as good and as historically interesting as this, with its extensive imagery featuring a religious cross, a fouled anchor (usually associated with the royal navy), a pair of crossed St George flags of England above the emblematic crown of queen Victoria, a love token heart (the piece was probably given as a gift on the sailors return to shore), a daisy wheel and two geometric motifs (one left unfinished!). The base is formed of a German coin, dated 1875, riveted to another inside the cup, through a piece of cork or wood- likely all things the maker picked up on his travels. H 9.5 cm x W 10 cm (approx)
