MT 53 (previous number (collector's original number))
Accession number:
Acc.4817
Description:
Enamel tray. The Monument to the Heroes of the Revolution is pictured at the right. On the left is a quotation by Mao Zedong, starting with “Tens of thousands of martyrs” (成千成万的先烈 Chengqian chengwan de xianlie). Pale green edge and black bowstring. Acquisition Data: Panjiayuan, Beijing, purchased from Wang Zhanhua王占华, woman vendor from Shenyang, RMB 80, 2006-03-12
Donor:
Alfreda Murck
Collection place:
Shenyang, Liaoning province, China
Verbatim coll. place:
Panjiayuan, Beijing
Production place:
Shenyang, Liaoning province, China
Culture or time period:
Chinese
Collector:
Alfreda Murck
Collection date:
March 12, 2006
Materials:
Enamel (fused coating)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Trays
Production date:
1960s
Accession date:
August 25, 2020
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Dimensions:
whole— diameter 31.8 centimeters
Comment:
The Monument to the Heroes of the Revolution was completed in 1958. For the history of the design of the monument, which stands at the center of Tiananmen Square, see Wu Hung, “Tiananmen Square: A Political History of Monuments,” Representations, No. 35 (Summer 1991), 84–117. The design of this tray is comparable to quilt covers nos. 116, 124 in Peabody Essex Museum. Inscription: “Thousands upon thousands of martyrs have heroically laid down their lives for the people; let us hold their banner high and march ahead along the path crimson with their blood!” 成千成万的先烈，为着人民的利益，在我们的前头英勇地牺牲了，让我们高举起他们的旗帜，踏着他们的血迹前进吧! 毛泽东. From “On Coalition Government” (论联合政府 Lun lianhe zhengfu), 24 April 1945, Mao Zedong Selected Works, Vol. 3, p. 318. Partly illegible factory seal on back: The People’s Construction Brand, Shenyang Enamel Factory (大众建設牌 沈阳市搪瓷廠 Dazhong Jianshe pai Shenyang shitangci chang) Condition: Chips and wear.