Coconut cup

History

It is probable that the earliest standing cups referred to as hanaps had turned wood (mazer-like) bowls with covers. Later ones have bowls formed of silver or of a coconut or ostrich egg with silver mounts. Cups with coconut bowls (see illustration) mounted in silver or silver-gilt and raised on a stem and foot, or multiple feet, were fashionable rareties in Western Europe in the late 15th century and throughout the 16th century. They were revived for a short period nearly three centuries later.