Chinese Mao Zedong Lapel Pin

Warm orange face, a grey jacket, and a cut-paper silhouette at the shoulders.

This Mao Zedong lapel pin is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is porcelain. Badges and lapel pins bearing Mao's face were produced by the billions, and Mao himself called a halt to production in 1969 because the metal used was seen as wasteful. Domed and white, the disc holds a head and shoulders in three-quarter profile facing right. Skin is a glowing orange, the jacket a faded grey with a crinkled, photographic texture, and the image stops in a ragged edge across the chest. It is 2 inches in diameter.

A collage disguised as a button.