“All to use”: circulation and presence of ‘Indian goods’ in Early Modern European Arts and Culture: the case of the coconut

Marília dos Santos Lopes deals with the coconut as an example of the circulation and presence of ›Indian Goods‹ in Early Modern European Arts and Culture. The coconut had been unknown in Europe until the 15th century, but its qualities soon turned it into a product which was equally appreciated by sailors, merchants, artists, and scholars. The coconut affected the circulation of knowledge, habits of consumption as well as the creation of artistic objects. The article follows the traces and routes of the coconut, trying to reconstruct its »cultural biography«. The usages of the coconut as a fruit or in medicine as well as in the construction of ships, but also in art and literature have allowed for its silent transcultural presence.