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"Fialka" (Фиалка / "Violet") perfume/cologne flacon
Object/Artifact
Rectangular clear pressed-glass flacon with reeded/paneled vertical corners, rounded shoulders, and a short threaded neck closed by a cream/ivory ribbed plastic screw cap (knurled skirt). About one-third full of yellow-amber liquid. A single rectangular paper label on the front is heavily deteriorated — orange-brown foxing and water-staining throughout, with paper loss in the upper area — bearing the product name "Фиалка" in a cursive-initial script across the lower portion; faint dark traces in the upper field suggest a now-illegible illustration (probably a violet motif).
2025.1.273
"Фиалка" (Violet) was a staple of the inexpensive Soviet single-flower "floral series" of mass-market fragrances, produced alongside names such as Ландыш (Lily of the Valley), Жасмин (Jasmine), and Душистый горошек (Sweet Pea). These scents were made by several state perfumery factories over many decades and were among the most widely available, affordable Soviet toiletries. As a Russian-language Soviet product, the piece belongs with the collection's cluster of Soviet/socialist-bloc imported toiletries that circulated in Cuba.
The Cabrera Arús family collection
María A. Arús Caraballo collection
2025.1
1971
1970s
U.S.S.R.
Eastern Europe
Europe
Violet
Manufacturer: undetermined — no maker mark survives on the label (tentative; the floral-series "Фиалка" was produced by multiple Soviet factories, including Novaya Zarya/Moscow, Severnoye Siyanie/Leningrad, and Dzintars/Riga, so a specific producer cannot be assigned from the surviving evidence). Date: Soviet-era. The floral series ran for decades; the pressed paneled flacon and cream ribbed screw cap suit mid-to-late Soviet production. Product type (perfume / eau de cologne / toilet water): not legible.
ФИАЛКА
Russian
Violet
Label: "Фиалка" in script (ornate cursive Ф, remainder in upright capitals).
11.5 cm
5.5 cm
3 cm
Glass flacon; threaded screw cap.
Glass
Plastic
Paper
Colorless pressed glass; cream/ivory plastic screw cap; lithographed paper label; fragrance liquid (contents present).
Poor
María A. Arús Caraballo
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
ownership
U.S.S.R.
Eastern Europe
Europe
production
Open questions: producing factory; product type (perfume vs. cologne vs. toilet water); capacity; date.