Chinese Wood Commemorative Sign

Four large gold characters and a great many small ones. Someone was being formally praised.

This commemorative sign comes from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is elm wood. In China, carved boards like this were presented to honor a respected person, often for a birthday or a public achievement, and hung in the home or family hall for visitors to read. Large gilded characters cross the center, above and beside columns of smaller script. A pierced frame of fretwork surrounds them, set with small gilded figures. Traces of blue and red remain in the recesses. Sixty-four inches wide and 35 high.

Few of us get anything like this for a birthday.