Xu Huanwen (Chinese, b. 1932)
Overlook of Ningdu Town, April 1961
Hand painted porcelain plaques,
Signed, titled and dated April, 1961 upper center margin.
Together with an unsigned porcelain plaque.

These plaques were created in China's premier porcelain manufacturing city of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province in the early 1960's.

The one depicts workers during The Great Leap Forward era, mining petuntse for the porcelain factories. The other is titled Overlook of Ningdu Town and features the Shuikou Tower Pagoda built in 1584, and overlooking the Meijiang River which enabled Jiangxi Province's porcelain wares to reach the rest of the world.

Millions of artistic and historically important artifacts were destroyed during the decade of the Cultural Revolution (1966- 1976). The survival of these two elegant and delicate, pre-1964 plaques is remarkable.

Dimensions: H: 13 3/8 x W: 21 7/8 in. A 3 1/4 x 3/8 x 3/8 inch chip to lower right edge of tile. Four complete chip fragments. See photo. No restoration. Unfinished edges to outer edge of tile. Minor pin head sized chips and glaze imperfections on the outer edge of tile. Slight sticker residue on top plaque, in bottom right corner.