The Rainbow of Loushan

This low relief carved lacquer plaque depicts the vertiginous peaks and precipices that characterise the famous gorge of the Loushan Pass in Guizhou province, and celebrates the completion of the Chengkun Railway which now passes through it. The 'flying rainbow' of the title refers to the numerous arches of the railway bridges which weave their way through the scene. During the Cultural Revolution, the red lacquer of traditional Chinese decorative art takes on a new symbolism - that of communism and the patriotic fervour of the period. This plaque may be the only monochrome red Cultural Revolution era plaque of this scale in the UK. The plaque is an outstanding addition to National Museum of Scotland's increasingly significant Chinese Collection, with its growing body of decorative arts from the period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and was presented through the Art Fund by David Hyatt and Edmund M. B. King in memory of their mother Eve King.