China–Cuba Friendship Badge, 1961 (中古友好)

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

China–Cuba Friendship Badge, 1961 (中古友好)

Entry/Object ID

2025.2.26

Description

An upright rectangular enamel-on-gilt-metal badge (cloisonné/champlevé technique). At the upper left is the Cuban national flag (blue-and-white stripes, red hoist triangle with white star); at the upper right, the flag of the People's Republic of China (red field with one large and four small gilt stars). The lower half is filled with a gilt-and-enamel emblem: ears of grain (yellow), a pink/magenta lotus blossom, green foliage, red ribbons, and a central gilt terrestrial globe with a meridian ring (tentative). A red cartouche carries the date "1961," and a green banner beneath bears four gilt Chinese characters, 中古友好 (Zhōng Gǔ Yǒuhǎo, "China–Cuba Friendship").

Use

Obtained in Cuba by Anna Veltfort and brought to New York City with her when she moved back to the US.

Context

The badge commemorates the new friendship between revolutionary Cuba and the PRC. Cuba's September 1960 recognition of Beijing — announced by Fidel Castro at the First Declaration of Havana — made it the first Western-Hemisphere state to establish ties with the People's Republic, opening a period (1960–1964) of close cooperation: interest-free Chinese credits, Chinese purchase of Cuban sugar, technician training, and reciprocal delegations (Che Guevara to China in 1960; President Dorticós in 1961). The paired national flags, the globe (internationalism), and the lotus and grain (Chinese decorative symbolism of friendship and prosperity) express that bilateral solidarity. As a Chinese-manufactured friendship badge, it entered Cuban circulation through these exchanges of the early 1960s.

Collection

Anna Veltfort collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.2

Source or Donor

Anna Veltfort

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Date made

1961

Place

Country

People's Republic of China

Continent

Asia

Notes

Maker/Attribution: Unmarked on the visible face; maker not identified (reverse not seen). People's Republic of China.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Transcription

1961 中古友好

Language

Chinese

Translation

China–Cuba Friendship

Dimensions

Height

2.2 cm

Width

1.8 cm

Parts

Single enamel-on-metal badge.

Materials

Material

Metal

Material Notes

Stamped gilt metal (brass) with polychrome vitreous enamel (cloisonné/champlevé) — blue, white, red, yellow, pink/magenta, green — and gilt detailing (technique tentative pending inspection).

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Anna Veltfort

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

acquisition, preservation

Place

City

New York City

State/Province

New York

Country

U.S.A.

Continent

North America

Notes

preservation

Place

Country

People's Republic of China

Continent

Asia

Notes

production

Web Links and URLs

article on Cuban-Chinese relations

Research Notes

Notes

Open questions: issuing body/occasion (general friendship issue vs. a specific 1961 delegation, association, or the Dorticós visit); whether the yellow ears represent wheat or sugarcane; confirmation of the globe device (possible dove).

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026