Name/Title
Patterned drawstring pouchEntry/Object ID
2025.1.55Description
A small soft-sided bag worked in yarn, taller than wide with a rounded base and a slightly gathered top, of the size of a pouch or large purse. It is densely patterned in horizontal bands: a deep red body crossed by repeating decorative borders in burgundy, orange/rust, yellow, and white, including bead-like dotted rows and zigzag/chevron lines, with a dark band at the top edge and graduated stripes toward the base. The banded, multicolor geometric scheme has a folk/Andean-textile character. The piece appears to be a complete made-up bag rather than a remnant, with no handle, strap, or closure.Use
The bag belonged to Juan Carlos Abrantes, one of the sons of Juan Abrantes, who was chief of Fidel Castro’s security guards and later the head of the Ministry of Interior.Acquisition
Accession
2025.1Notes
Belonged to Juan Carlos Abrantes.Made/Created
Notes
MAKER: Unknown; handmade. The bag is hand-worked in yarn. No maker's mark or label is visible.
DATE / PERIOD: Not marked; undetermined. The materials and style are consistent with a mid-to-late twentieth-century date, but nothing on the object fixes it.
ORIGIN: Not established from the object. The banded geometric style reads as Latin American/Andean folk textile, but that is a stylistic impression, not evidence of where this piece was made; no origin mark is present.Dimensions
Dimension Description
28.5 x 17Height
28.5 cmWidth
17 cmMaterials
Material
ThreadMaterial Notes
MATERIALS: Yarn — most likely wool or an acrylic/wool blend given the banded colorwork; possibly cotton.
TECHNIQUES: A hand-worked textile in colored bands. The dense, slightly raised banding and dotted rows are consistent with crochet, though tight multicolor stranded knitting can look similar, so the structure (interlocking loops of crochet versus rows of knit stitches) should be confirmed on the object. The patterning is carried in horizontal color bands with small repeating motifs.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Juan Carlos AbrantesNotes
ownerPerson or Organization
María A. Cabrera ArúsNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
useResearch Notes
Notes
This is a hand-worked, brightly banded pouch-form bag whose visual style belongs to the Latin American/Andean folk-textile family — horizontal pattern bands of geometric and dotted motifs in red, black, orange, cream, and white. That stylistic placement is an impression to test, not a determination of origin, since such patterning has been widely imitated and the object carries no mark.
The provenance recorded with the object is its most significant feature.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
March 31, 2022Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 3, 2026