Chinese Mao Zedong Lapel Pin

Profile faces a line of script across a red ray-patterned bar.

This Mao Zedong lapel pin is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is metal. After Mao's death in 1976, the Communist Party began a process of de-Mao-ization, and much memorabilia was destroyed, statues were taken down, and many badges were collected and melted into functional objects. Short rectangle with a glossy red field marked by fine radiating lines. Brushed gold characters and a smaller line sit at the left, and a gold head in profile with a high collar fills the right. It is 1.5 inches wide and 0.5 high.

Rays, writing, and one calm profile.