Cuba Material collection · Colección Cuba Material
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Miniature woven-straw souvenir sombrero brooch, hand-lettered "CUBA"
Object/Artifact
A small novelty brooch in the form of a miniature wide-brimmed straw hat (sombrero), made of fine plant-fiber/straw cordage coiled and stitched in a spiral from the crown outward to a downturned brim. The crown is raised and rounded; the brim is broad and slightly irregular/wavy. The upper brim is hand-lettered "CUBA" in black ink. The underside carries a metal safety-pin–type brooch fitting fixed across the inside of the crown, with a small folded dark red ribbon/fabric tab retained under the pin. The straw shows natural cream-to-tan tones with darker brown mottling and age spotting. One of a series of three; one of these rests on a spotted (foxed) rectangular card with a cut tab and a slot/pin (shown in one of the images). The piece reads as a handmade revolutionary memento. No maker's mark is present.
2025.1.147
Found hidden beneath artisanal jewelry inside a cardboard box. Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez.
The Cabrera Arús family collection
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecition
2025.1
circa 1959
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
Maker: Not identified; no maker's mark or label. Handmade Cuban souvenir/artisanal craft. No individual maker indicated. Date: circa 1959 (donor estimate, attributed). No date appears on the object, and the form is not independently datable to a specific year. Place of Origin: Cuba (indicated by the hand-lettered "CUBA" and the souvenir-craft type). Specific locale not indicated.
Hand-lettered "CUBA" in black ink on the upper brim. No maker's mark. (The associated card backing bears no legible text in the views provided.)
Materials: Woven/coiled plant fiber (straw or palm/sisal-type cordage); black ink (lettering); metal brooch pin (safety-pin form); small dark red ribbon/fabric tab. Associated card: paper/cardstock (separate item). Technique: Coiled-and-stitched straw work (spiral coil from crown to brim), hand-shaped into a sombrero form; hand-inked lettering; applied metal pin fitting for wear as a brooch.
Fair
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
acquisition, preservation