This natural history drawing from the 'Paper Museum' of Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588–1657) and his brother Carlo Antonio (1606–89) shows a pineapple, a herbaceous species of the family Bromeliaceae. Native to southern Brazil and Paraguay, it had spread as far as the Caribbean when it was discovered by Christopher Columbus on the island of Guadeloupe. It was introduced to Europe and grown under glass, and today it is cultivated in all the tropical regions of the world. The pineapple was one of the first exotic fruits from the New World to be documented by travellers (as in G.B. Ramusio, Terzo volume delle navigationi et viaggi . . . , Venice 1556, iii, pl. 136, and A. Thevet, La cosmographie universelle, 2 vols, Paris 1575, ii). A copy of the pineapple drawn by Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627) for the Medici collections (Florence, Uffizi, inv. 1931 Orn.) was given by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando i de’ Medici, to Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1591 (Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, ms Aldrovandi, Tavole vol. 3, Piante fiori frutta, fol. 196).

The drawing shows a fruit that has been deformed either by disease or genetic mutation, for it has not only a rosette of leaves at its apex, but also a thick cluster of leaves at its base. The stem is robust and bears two long, linear leaves with finely toothed margins and pointed tips. The clusters of leaves are shorter, but also linear and finely toothed. The fruit is a syncarp of numerous berries, bearing scales with long sharp points.

The sheet is attributed to Vincenzo Leonardi, an artist who worked for Cassiano from at least 1621 until his death in 1646 (see Garbari and Tongiorgi Tomasi 2007, pp. 15–16 and 36).

‘Pozzo’ number 382; laid down on a George III two-ply mount with wash borders (‘type D’ mount).

Text adapted from Fabio Garbari and Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi, Flora: The Erbario Miniato and other Drawings, Part B.VI of The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo: A Catalogue Raisonné, 2 vols, London 2007, cat. 279.