Decorative tiles reborn
Manufactured between 1915 and 1935, the decorative tiles in the tile wall at the Museum of Ancient Taiwan Tiles are still dazzling despite their age. Produced and colored by hand, their colors and raised patterns give each tile its own unique look. “One of the unique features of the decorative tiles of this period is their contoured patterning,” explains Hsu, describing the sculptural elements fired atop the tile base. “They used the thickness [of the sculpted elements] to control the colors, meaning that the colors were largely determined by the sculpting. The colors are lighter on the taller parts of the patterns [where there is less glaze], and darker on the lower parts where the glaze tends to pool.” Temperature variations during the firing process also affected the pigments and contributed to the uniqueness of each tile.
The decorative tiles provide a small glimpse of the architectural beauty of early-20th-century Taiwan. Unfortunately, their production ceased when Japan threw itself into the Pacific War, and market uncertainties and the high cost of making tiles by hand discouraged companies from restarting their production after the war.
The museum recently highlighted ten classic decorative tile styles for a crowdfunding campaign. Entitled “Taiwan Decorative Tiles Renaissance,” it aimed to raise money to restart production of the old tiles and reintroduce them to the world.
James Hsu says that restarting production is intended to meet the needs of the building preservation and restoration community, which often lacks access to decorative tiles when restoring old buildings. In the past, fellow tile enthusiasts have generously provided tiles from their collections to such restoration efforts because they all agreed that “old decorative tiles should be on old homes.” Recognizing that this wasn’t a sustainable solution, Hsu and his friends decided to start making new tiles themselves. They spent more than a year testing every step of the manufacturing process, from sculpting to mold making, painting, and firing, and didn’t begin raising money until their new tiles were of comparable quality to the old ones.
Happily, their crowdfunding campaign reached its goal of NT$150,000 in just 12 hours, and went on to garner more than NT$5 million by the time it concluded in early November. Describing the museum’s plans, Hsu says, “We first emulated the early Japanese imitations of Victorian tiles. Now that we’ve reached the old standards of craftsmanship, we plan to invite Taiwanese artists to design Taiwanese images.” The museum aims to increase public awareness of Taiwan’s wonderful decorative tile culture, while also revitalizing tile production. Its objective is to have tiles once again adorn our cityscapes as a decorative element in Taiwanese homes, and to make decorative tiles a beloved creative gift.
“But those goals are far in the future,” exclaims Hsu.
Nevertheless, seeing craftspeople sculpting and painting floral patterns into tiles in the video used for the crowdfunding campaign, as well as the public’s generous response, it seems as if decorative tile culture has already begun its new moment in the sun.
Rescuing roof-ridge decorative tiles from the grasp of a backhoe. (courtesy of the Museum of Ancient Taiwan Tiles)
It used to be fashionable to mount decorative tiles on the most visible portions of building exteriors. The photo shows an old house in Luzhou.
The effort to restart production of decorative tiles is making progress. Here, a craftsperson carves a flower design. (courtesy of the Museum of Ancient Taiwan Tiles)
Kang Noushi first encountered decorative tiles on Kinmen. The tiles have since become a lifelong hobby.
James Hsu dreams of revitalizing Taiwan’s decorative tile culture. (photo by Jimmy Lin)