Name/Title
Nail-polish bottle cap with integral applicator brush (esmalte de uñas)Entry/Object ID
2025.1.370Description
Screw cap from a nail-polish (nail-varnish) bottle, comprising a molded white plastic cap/handle of distinctive flared, fluted "double-trumpet"/hourglass form (longitudinal ribs, wide flared ends, narrow waist), continuing into a clear plastic stem that carries the lacquer applicator — a tapered tuft of natural (brown) bristle. The bristles are splayed and stiffened. No bottle is present, and no brand, maker, or country marking is visible on the cap.Use
Kept by Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez, possibly to repurpose.Context
The cap-and-brush unit is the closure of a nail-polish bottle: the fluted portion is gripped and unscrewed, the stem descends into the lacquer, and the brush applies it. Cuba's state cosmetics industry produced nail polish Fantasía (top coat, base, and 10 colors) and quitaesmaltes Prisma.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collectionMade/Created
Place
Country
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
Date: undetermined; the molded-plastic cap is broadly mid-to-late 20th-century and consistent with the collection period, but cannot be fixed without marks or the bottle/label.Dimensions
Length
9 cmCircumference
2 cmParts
Cap/handle (white fluted plastic) with brush stem (clear plastic) and natural-bristle applicator.Materials
Material
PlasticMaterial Notes
Molded plastic (white cap; clear stem); plastic bristleRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Gertrudis Caraballo GálvezNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
useCreated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
May 5, 2022Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 17, 2026