Set of four unused cosmetic powder puffs (off white and pale blue)

Name/Title

Set of four unused cosmetic powder puffs (off white and pale blue)

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.246

Description

Four small round cosmetic powder puffs of soft, dense pile fabric (plush/velour or wool-type), each a slightly domed circular pad. Two are cream/off-white and two are pale blue/gray. All four are clean and appear unused or barely used — the pile is full, soft, and largely unsoiled, in contrast to the two heavily used puffs elsewhere in the collection. No hand-straps are visible. No maker's marks or labels are visible.

Use

Kept in a nylon by Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Research Notes

Notes

A group of four unused cosmetic powder puffs within the collection's record of personal grooming and everyday material culture. Their clean, unused state — unlike the worn strapped and strapless puffs cataloged earlier — suggests saved or stockpiled stock, consistent with the collection's recurring theme of conserving everyday consumer goods, particularly meaningful in the Cuban context of scarcity, where toiletries and cosmetics were acquired and kept against future need. No maker, origin, or date can be established from the objects.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

June 4, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

July 17, 2026