Unknown Artist
Who doesn't love chocolate? ; ) When I saw this piece I just knew it had to be published in DailyArt! : D
This etching is a double-page illuminated frontispiece showing Poseidon standing on a sea chariot, receiving chocolate from the personification of Mexico (in a crown). Poseidon will take the chocolate to Europe. Chocolata Inda is the first European work dedicated to chocolate and cocoa, first written in Spanish by Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma in 1631. The text rapidly crossed the borders as this food became more appreciated. It was largely distributed on the continent and translated into French in 1641, Latin in 1644, English in 1652, and Italian in 1678.
Chocolata Inda is followed by extracts from two other treatises: an essay on the cocoa tree by Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, and an article on hypochondria by Paolo Zacchias. In the work, Colmenero who was a physician, considers the medical properties of chocolate, and it is as such that it will be mentioned in many bibliographies and medical reviews of the 17th and 18th centuries. (We all know he was right.) The author also presents here for the first time the recipe for a chocolate beverage made from 100 cocoa beans, dried fruits, spices, pepper, and sugar.
Time for some hot chocolate maybe? ; )
Have a great Saturday!
P.S. Although it's June, there is always time for a cup of chocolate! Here's a selection of hot chocolate paintings for a cozy evening! <3