Keychain with clear plastic fob enclosing a goat emblem

Name/Title

Keychain with clear plastic fob enclosing a goat emblem

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.62

Description

A keychain consisting of a rounded, roughly triangular clear cast-plastic (Lucite/acrylic-type) fob on a short metal link chain with a D-shaped split key ring at the top. Embedded inside the transparent fob is a printed disc showing a central figure of a goat (a standing or rearing goat with a beard and horns) within concentric ring borders, ringed by a radiating sunburst/fan pattern, printed in black on a pale ground. The plastic is clouded, partly obscuring the image; the metal ring and chain are tarnished. It is a souvenir/novelty keychain.

Use

Possibly used or gifted to José A. Cabrera Pérez by his wife

Context

Purchased in state store by Maria A Arús Caraballo as per her testimony.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Notes

MAKER: Unknown; unmarked. No maker's mark or text is legible in the views. A mass-produced novelty keychain; the producer is not identified. DATE / PERIOD: Not marked; undetermined. Cast-acrylic souvenir fobs of this type are broadly mid-to-late twentieth century; no closer date can be fixed from the object. ORIGIN: Not established from the object (no country mark).

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

MARKINGS / INSCRIPTIONS: Pictorial only — a goat within concentric circular borders and a radiating fan/sunburst surround, printed in dark blue. No legible text, name, or maker's mark is visible.

Materials

Material Notes

MATERIALS: Clear cast plastic (acrylic/Lucite-type) fob enclosing a printed paper or film disc; white-metal chain and split ring. TECHNIQUES: A printed emblem disc set into clear plastic cast/embedded around it to form the fob, drilled and looped to a machine-made link chain and a stamped D-ring.

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

José A. Cabrera Pérez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Research Notes

Notes

This is a novelty/souvenir keychain whose interest lies in its embedded emblem — a goat set within a roundel and a radiating border. The goat is the identifying motif, but what it signifies is not determinable from the object alone, and there are several plausible readings that should be recorded as open rather than chosen: a zodiac sign (Capricorn, the goat, is the most common keychain use of a goat emblem, often issued in horoscope sets); a heraldic or institutional badge (a goat appears in the arms and emblems of various towns, clubs, regiments, and brands); or a mascot or advertising device. Without legible text or a recognizable crest, none of these can be confirmed; the concentric-ring-and-sunburst framing is generic to badge and medallion design and does not by itself decide the question.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

September 29, 2025

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026