1960s Cultural Revolution Era Jingdezhen Chairman Mao Jardiniere

This jardiniere depicting Chairman Mao, as well as scenes featuring the Red Troops, was made in Jingdezhen during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). These highly stylised propaganda pieces indicate how porcelain makers at the time focused on portraying Mao and other leaders in heroic terms; this soviet style of propaganda art espousing revolutionary ideals was considered acceptable compared to other Western ‘bourgeois’ forms, depicting Mao and other figures in ways that mythologized them.

The caption respectfully wishes Chairman Mao endless longevity by the Jiangxi Revolutionary Cadre; it should be noted that Jingdezhen is in Jiangxi province, another indicator that it was produced by a state cooperative in the porcelain capital.

The crackle glaze was a midcentury Jingdezhen signature, paying homage to archaic Gu glazes. Excerpts from the Sayings of Chairman Mao “The Little Red Book”, and revolutionary scenes including a depiction of Chairman Mao in Ji'an and Shanxi. The former was when he first formulated key ideals of the Little Red Book; the latter was when as a young man he led troops to safety during the Long March. These key periods would have been carefully chosen by artists to cement his status as an almost god-like, certainly heroic figure in the Communist mythos.

Price marked at AUD$480.
Measurements: 20cm high, 15 cm across opening dia.
Condition: Good, wear to base commensurate with age. Some wear overall commensurate with age.