The pineapple has served as a symbol of hospitality and warm welcome through the history of
the Americas.
Christopher Columbus wrote the first account of a western encounter with the pineapple in
the journal of his second discovery voyage across the Atlantic. He and his men landed on the
Caribbean island of Guadaloupe, where the sailors enjoyed this sweet, succulent new fruit, which
had already become a staple of native feasts and religious rites.
In 1493, Columbus first brought the pineapple back to Renaissance Europe that was largely
devoid of sweet foods, including fresh fruit. The pineapple's exotic nature and sweetness soon
made it an item that soon acquired both popularity and curiosity for centuries after its European
arrival. For two centuries, as European horticulturists struggled to perfect a hothouse method
for cultivating pineapples in Europe, the pineapple became even more a coveted commodity. In the
1600s, King Charles posed for an official portrait while receiving a pineapple as a gift.
In colonial America, hostesses would set a fresh pineapple in the center of their dining
table when visitors joined their families in their homes. Visiting was the primary means of
entertainment and cultural exchange, so the concept of hospitality was a central element in
colonial life. The pineapple, then, symbolized the warmest welcome a hostess could extend to her
guests, and then often it also served as the dessert for the meal. If the visitors spent the
night, they would be given a bedroom with a bed in which pineapples had been carved on either the
bedposts or the headboard -- even if that was the master bedroom.
Creative food display became a competition among the hostesses, because it declared her
personality and her family's social status. Hostesses tried to outdo one another in creating
memorable dining events. In larger, more affluent homes, the doors to the dining room were kept
closed to create an air of suspense and excitment over the preparations of the hostess. Colonial
grocers sometimes rented pineapples to hostesses desparate to create a dining experience above
their financial means. Later, once that hostess had returned the pineapple, the fruit would be
sold to more affluent clients who could afford to actually buy and eat it. Regardless of one's
financial ability to actually buy and eat the pineapple, however, visitors to the homes that
displayed the pineapple felt particularly honored that the hostess had spared no expense to
secure one in ther behalf.
By the Gilded Age, which was the era in which Samuel Cupples lived,
through the present day, the pineapple became a familiar symbolic image of welcome, good cheer,
and warmth and affection between all who dwell inside the home.
Back to the Stained Glass Page
Back to the Museum Shop
