Name/Title
"Cirene" Aceite de Belleza (beauty oil) — bottle with original cartonEntry/Object ID
2025.1.275Description
Bottle: colorless glass bottle of skittle/bowling-pin form — tall rounded-shoulder body tapering to a narrow waist above a wide flared foot — nearly full of yellow oil and closed by a white ribbed plastic screw cap. An oval celadon-green front label carries a classical female profile head in a roundel flanked by laurel sprigs, lettered "CIRENE / ACEITE DE BELLEZA / Suchel / HECHO EN CUBA."
Carton: tall, narrow paperboard box covered in celadon-green printed paper repeating the same laurel-wreathed classical cameo over "CIRENE," with "ACEITE DE BELLEZA" below and a field of small repeating gold/cream stylized (trident-like) motifs. Heavily foxed and stained, with one torn top corner.Use
Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez. Unused.Context
"Cirene" (Cyrene, the classical nymph-huntress of Greek myth, hence the cameo and laurel) was a Suchel skincare/beauty line in revolutionary-era Cuba — documented with companion products such as Cirene cold cream, crema nutritiva, and astringent/refreshing lotions. "Aceite de belleza" is a cosmetic beauty oil from that line. Produced by the state Empresa de Perfumería y Jabonería Suchel, it is a domestic Cuban product whose classical-cameo branding projected an aspirational, timeless-beauty image.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collection, Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecitionMade/Created
Manufacturer
SuchelPlace
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaEdition
Brand/line: Cirene; product: "Aceite de Belleza."Notes
Date: circa 1960s–1970s (tentative). Terminus post quem ~1961 for nationalized state perfumery (Suchel identity from the mid-1960s); the classical-cameo design and the product's place within the Cuban beauty glossary in Más belleza para ti (Isabel de Amado Blanco) point to the 1960s–70s. No date on the object.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
LabelLocation
bottleTranscription
CIRENE
ACEITE DE BELLEZA
Suchel
HECHO EN CUBALanguage
SpanishTranslation
CIRENE
BEAUTY OIL
Suchel
MADE IN CUBAType
InscriptionLocation
boxTranscription
CIRENE
ACEITE DE BELLEZALanguage
SpanishTranslation
CIRENE
BEAUTY OILNotes
Bottle label: "CIRENE / ACEITE DE BELLEZA / Suchel / HECHO EN CUBA," with a classical female profile in a laurel-flanked roundel.
Carton: "CIRENE / ACEITE DE BELLEZA," same cameo, with a repeating gold stylized (trident-like) motif.Dimensions
Height
14 cmWidth
5 cmDepth
5 cmParts
Bottle: glass bottle; screw cap.
Carton: single tuck/folding paperboard box (one top corner torn).Accessories
Accessory
Instruction manualMaterials
Material
Glass, CardboardMaterial Notes
Bottle: colorless glass; white plastic screw cap; lithographed paper label; yellow cosmetic oil (contents present).
Carton: paperboard with lithographed paper covering.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Gertrudis Caraballo GálvezNotes
ownerPerson or Organization
SuchelNotes
producerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
production, ownershipCreated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
March 31, 2022Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 15, 2026
