Name/Title
Tortoiseshell (carey) coil wrap ring (wide)Entry/Object ID
2025.25.18Description
Hand-worked tortoiseshell finger ring: a flat, fairly wide band spiraling roughly 1½ turns with overlapping open ends (coil/wrap form). Darker brown with amber striping; translucent figured carey.Item Type
RingCollection
María Teresa Cornide Hernández collectionMade/Created
Place
Country
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
Maker: Unidentified (artisanal tortoiseshell work); unmarked.
Date: Cannot be confirmed within 1959–1990 and may fall outside it. No marks or datable features. (Undatable.)
Place of Origin: Not marked. Carey work is a traditional Cuban craft; attribution rests on that tradition and provenance. (Tentative.)Materials
Material
tortoiseshellMaterial Notes
Materials: Tortoiseshell (carey) — hawksbill sea turtle shell (Eretmochelys imbricata), per the collector.
Technique: Strip heat-softened, coiled into a 1½-turn wrap with tapered overlapping ends, polished.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Maria T. Cornide HernándezNotes
PurchasedRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
PurchaseResearch Notes
Notes
Carey = hawksbill shell; CITES Appendix I (1977); legal Cuban hawksbill harvest until 2008. Full trade/transfer restrictions and the genuine-vs-imitation confirmation note per the carey earrings.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
May 24, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 14, 2026
