Beer mat / coaster — Restaurace ASIE

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Beer mat / coaster — "Restaurace ASIE"

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.221

Description

A round drink coaster (beer mat) of absorbent cream pulpboard with a scalloped/wavy edge, printed on the front in red. A double red ring frames the design; within it, the cursive word "Restaurace" arches over a symmetrical heart-shaped decorative flourish (a damask/arabesque motif), with "ASIE" in elegant serif capitals below. Only the front is shown; the reverse is not imaged.

Use

Belonged to Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1971 - circa 1980

Place

Country

Czechoslovakia

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

AI notes: Maker: Not identified by manufacturer. The establishment named is "Restaurace ASIE" (Restaurant "Asia"); the printer/brewery and specific location are not shown. Date: Cannot be determined from the object; likely falls outside the 1959–1990 range. No date or datable mark is present, and the typography and ornament read as relatively contemporary (plausibly post-1990/post-1993), suggesting it may postdate the collection's range — but this is a stylistic inference, not a confirmed date. Flagged for verification. Place of Origin: Czech lands (Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic). The Czech word "Restaurace" (Slovak would be "Reštaurácia") identifies the language and origin as Czech; the exact town is not indicated.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Location

front of coaster

Transcription

Restaurace Asie

Language

Czech

Translation

Asian Restaurant

Dimensions

Diameter

9 cm

Materials

Material

Paper

Material Notes

Materials: Absorbent wood-pulp board (coaster/beer-mat stock); printed ink (single red color). Technique: Offset/letterpress one-color printing on a die-cut, scallop-edged pulpboard blank.

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Web Links and URLs

Restaurace Asie

Research Notes

Notes

Leopoldo Arús Caraballo, the owner's son, may have brought it to Cuba after visiting Czechoslovakia and the still-standing Restaurace Asie in Mladá Boleslav, the second most populated city in the current Czech Republic. Restaurace Asie opened in 1971, the oldest Asian cuisine restaurant in the Czech Republic, as the restaurant website claims.

Notes

With no printed date and a modern-looking design, this most likely postdates 1990 and may fall outside the collection's 1959–1990 manufacture range. If it is a later piece, it would not belong to the socialist-era Czechoslovak import thread (Crystalex, Supraphon, Emgeton) but rather be a later acquisition or travel souvenir — worth distinguishing in the record.

Notes

"Restaurace Asie" is a generic name shared by many Asian restaurants in the Czech Republic, so the specific establishment can't be pinned

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026