Ceramic face pendant, Afro-Cuban woman in a headscarf, on fiber cord

Jewelry

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Ceramic face pendant, Afro-Cuban woman in a headscarf, on fiber cord

Entry/Object ID

2025.11.52

Description

Molded polychrome ceramic face pendant (earthenware), molded in low relief as a frontal female face. The face is finished in a reddish-brown ground; the figure wears a mustard-yellow headscarf/turban decorated with gold dots, with black hair tufts visible at the brow. Eyes are modeled closed/downcast with black outlines and gold-painted upper lids; the lips are full and painted bright red in a slight smile. The plaque is pierced with two holes at the crown and fitted with small metal wire loops (jump rings) at each cheek; a twisted natural-fiber cord passes through the crown holes and is knotted to a wearable loop. The reverse is unpainted, slightly concave reddish clay, impressed "CUBA."

Item Type

Necklace

Acquisition

Accession

2025.11

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Place

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

Maker: Unidentified artisan/workshop — country mark only, no maker's name. Date: Undated. Cuban manufacture confirmed by the mark, but the year cannot be confirmed within 1959–1990 and may fall outside it. Place of Origin: Cuba (impressed "CUBA," reverse).

Mark, Engraving or Stamp

Notes

Impressed "CUBA" on the reverse, oriented vertically. No other marks.

Jewelry Details

Chain

Rope

Parts

cord, pendant

Materials

Material Notes

Materials: Earthenware/terracotta; polychrome paint with gold/metallic accents; metal wire suspension loops; twisted natural-fiber cord (cotton or jute). Technique: Hand-modeled / press-molded low relief; hand-painted polychrome decoration with metallic highlights; pierced for suspension; inserted wire loops; cord-strung by hand.

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Research Notes

Notes

A folk-art / tourist souvenir pendant. The iconography — an Afro-Cuban woman in a tied headscarf — belongs to a long lineage of Cuban popular ceramics and costume ornament (the negra / mulata type, also seen in tobacco-, coffee-, and Santería-adjacent souvenir imagery) ranging from affectionate folkloric portraiture to racialized caricature, and the catalog describes the iconography rather than endorsing it.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

February 18, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 12, 2026