Name/Title
Soviet aluminum desk tray / memo holder with telephone-information pictogramsEntry/Object ID
2025.1.131Description
A small rectangular desk accessory of cast light metal (aluminum or aluminum-type alloy), functioning as a combined memo/note tray. The upper portion is a shallow square well with a finely textured (woven/cross-hatched) base inside a raised rim; below it runs a row of five small square tiles on a blue ground, each bearing a white pictogram: a writing/pointing hand, a telephone handset, a red cross (medical), a stemmed glass or pharmacy-type symbol, and an X/crossed symbol. The reverse has the same textured field and carries an impressed circular maker's mark: a ringed circle enclosing a stylized angular monogram (interlocked "M"/zigzag device) above curved Cyrillic lettering reading "ИОЗОК."
The piece shows soiling, spotting, adhesive/residue staining on the lower reverse, a result of having being used as an ashtray.Use
Belonged to Leopoldo Arús CaraballoCollection
The Cabrera Arús family collection, Leopoldo Arús Caraballo collectionMade/Created
Place
Country
U.S.S.R.Region
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
Maker
Soviet manufacturer, identified by the impressed trademark — an angular monogram with the Cyrillic factory legend "ИОЗОК." The legend appears to be a plant acronym; the specific enterprise has not been matched to a reference and the full name is undetermined.
Date
Undetermined. Soviet origin places it within the era of USSR–Cuba trade (1960s–1991); the cast-aluminum desk-souvenir/utility style is consistent with mid-to-late 20th-century Soviet production. No date is present on the object.
Place of Origin
USSR (Soviet Union), per the Cyrillic maker's mark. Specific city/plant undetermined.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Reverse: impressed circular maker's mark — ringed circle enclosing a stylized angular monogram (interlocked "M"/zigzag), with curved Cyrillic lettering "ИОЗОК" below. (
Front: five pictogram tiles — writing hand; telephone handset; red cross; stemmed-glass/symbol; X-symbol.Materials
Material
aluminumMaterial Notes
Materials
Cast light metal (aluminum or aluminum-type alloy); applied enamel or paint on the pictogram tiles (blue ground, colored icons); residual adhesive/staining.
Technique
Cast and surface-textured metal tray with integrally formed well and tile recesses; pictogram tiles filled with colored enamel/paint and set into the recesses; impressed maker's mark on the reverse.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Leopoldo Arús CaraballoNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
usePlace
Country
U.S.S.R.Region
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
productionResearch Notes
Notes
The row of pictograms (writing, telephone, medical cross, etc.) indicates the tray served as a desktop reference or memo holder, plausibly keyed to service or emergency telephone categories.
Notes
The Cyrillic maker's mark "ИОЗОК" with its monogram confirms Soviet manufacture; the specific factory and a precise date could not be established and would best be confirmed against a Soviet trademark/maker's-mark catalog or from provenance.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
February 19, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 18, 2026
