Chinese Mao Zedong Lapel Pin

Grey profile rising out of a swirl of red banners.

This Mao Zedong lapel pin is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is porcelain. Propaganda posters of the era generally pictured a utopian society, with smiling farmers, brave soldiers and happy people gathered around Mao, who was cast as a benevolent father and wise teacher. Ringed in gold, the white disc holds a portrait. The figure faces left in greyscale, with red flags swirling beneath the shoulders and a small tiled-roof gateway tucked into the right-hand edge of the scene. It is 1.5 inches in diameter.

A whole parade squeezed into a thumb-sized circle.