Name/Title
Woven ribbon trim, black-and-white scallop-and-dot patternEntry/Object ID
2025.1.49Description
A length of narrow decorative ribbon/trim on a white ground patterned in black, wound into a coil. The design runs lengthwise: a row of black scallops (arches) each enclosing a solid black dot along the upper part of the band, with a border of fine black stripes and a dotted/dashed line below, and a finer striped edge. The band has finished woven selvedges along both edges and cut, slightly frayed ends with a few loose threads. The reverse shows the pattern in reverse colorway with weft floats, consistent with a figured woven ribbon. It reads as a cut length or remnant of yardage rather than a finished article.Use
Among María A. Cabrera Arús sewing materials.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collection, Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecitionMade/Created
Notes
MAKER: Unknown; unmarked. No selvedge lettering, label, or maker's mark is present.
DATE / PERIOD: Not marked; undetermined. Decorative woven trim of this kind is broadly twentieth-century; no closer date can be fixed from the object.
ORIGIN: Place of manufacture undetermined (no country-of-origin mark). Purchased in Cuba in the 1980s.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
María A. Arús CaraballoNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
purchaseResearch Notes
Notes
The structure — finished selvedges with a figured motif and a reverse colorway with weft floats — is what distinguishes a woven figured ribbon from an embroidered tape and is the main thing to confirm on the object. The cut ends and retained loose threads suggest a remnant kept for future sewing rather than a finished item, an inference consistent with a household practice of saving usable trimmings; it is not separately documented for this piece. Acquisition in Cuba is recorded per owner information; the place of manufacture is unmarked and not determinable from the object, and no route of entry is assumed. The piece carries no marks to localize maker, origin, or date.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
September 22, 2025Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 20, 2026
