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Set of Six Cotton Openwork Napkins
Textile
A set of six matching square napkins in ecru, woven as an even, corded weft-rep (ribbed) cotton. Each is decorated with openwork in a drawn-thread/filet manner: dashed openwork lines form a border and concentric diamond/zigzag frames, with a central stylized flower worked as an open filet-style grid. The reverse reads essentially the same as the face, indicating the openwork is structural (woven/machine-worked) rather than surface embroidery. Edges are finished with a narrow folded, stitched hem. The ground is regular and uniform across pieces. Light tan corner staining appears on some pieces. No maker's mark, label, or selvage lettering is visible in the images.
2025.1.392
Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez
Matching openwork table-linen sets of this kind were mass-produced and widely exported in the mid-to-late 20th century, including by Eastern-bloc manufacturers (Czechoslovak cotton and cotton/rayon napkin sets are a well-documented export type).
The Cabrera Arús family collection
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecition
2025.1
Maker/Attribution: Unmarked; manufacturer not identified. Industrial/machine production (assessed from the uniform set, regular corded ground, and structural openwork). Probably Eastern bloc (Czechoslovakia or GDR are the leading candidates) — a provenance strongly supported by the collection context and the export record, but not confirmable from the cloth alone, since no country mark or label is visible (flag). Date: circa 1960s–1980s (tentative). Place: Eastern Europe (Eastern bloc) (probable; specific country unconfirmed).
Six matching napkins.
Fabric
Ecru cotton (possibly a cotton/rayon blend — common in Czechoslovak napkin sets and consistent with the slight sheen) (tentative; fiber test would confirm); same-fiber openwork.
Good
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use
Origin caveat: "Eastern bloc" is a strong provenance hypothesis (context + documented export type), not a confirmed fact, because the pieces carry no visible country mark. Search confirmed Czechoslovak cotton/rayon napkin sets as a real export category (eBay/vintage-linen listings), supporting plausibility.