The tropical jungle of Singapore forms a backdrop for a long-held love affair with England ceramics. Underneath the shady canopy at Bukit Brown Cemetery, you can literally touch hundreds of vintage tiles imported from England in the early 20th century. The exciting discovery of these tiled treasures highlights the cross-cultural roots of Singapore’s design heritage.
In Singapore, vintage tiles are known largely for their sporadic appearance on privately owned shophouses in areas such as Duxton Hill and Katong. Often now locally referred to as Peranakan tiles, many of the particularly bright and bold patterns were actually produced by Japanese tile manufacturers between around 1915 - 1940. Greater recognition of late 19th century English tiles and other types adds to the wide variety of patterns, motifs, techniques and colours of Singapore’s vintage tile repository.
English tiles spotted at Bukit Brown so far include transfer-print, glazed and tubelined types. Spanning art movements such as Aesthetic (approx. 1870-1900) and Art Nouveau (approx. 1890-1914), tiles recognised as being English do not always conform to a singular look.
The oldest known tiled tomb (1905) features a single coloured transfer print tile. In modern mechanised tile production, single colour tiles were invented earlier than multiple coloured ones due to technical developments, according to Han Van Lemmen in his book, ‘Tiles: 1,000 Years of Architectural Decoration’. I’m still in the process of identifying the maker of this tile, but feel that it is likely to be English.
England was one of the first countries to successfully mass-produce tiles. In 1748, Liverpool based printer John Sadler invented the technique of transfer printing. His achievements were revolutionary to the field of ceramic decoration due to the significant saving of time and labour, not to mention the increased accuracy of designs. Pot painters employed to paint tiles by hand were no doubt displeased by his 'disruption'!
By 1840, English Richard Prosser developed early technology for dust-pressed tiles, which enabled the mass production of tiles at a consistent quality. By the 1870s, ready-made glaze and colours were available for any tile producer to purchase, which further simplified the manufacturing process.
Judging which tiles are actually English involves a bit of guesswork, and usually it’s a case of elimination. Belgium tiles were also quite popular on early tombs, but are fairly easy to recognise due to a limited number of designs. English tiles seem to have much more variation, and without looking at the back of the tile, it’s not always possible to judge accurately.
Glazed tiles are particularly attractive in the low light of the cemetery. Above, deep green glazed tiles by Mansfield Brothers (c1905) appear luminous despite exposure to sun, rain and heat for over a century. The elegant whiplash line of the Art Nouveau style is also present across over a dozen different tiles used at this 1910 tomb.
Geometric tiles from England also seemed to serve as inspiration for Japanese tile makers, who began exporting their wares from about 1915- 1940. Due to ‘fluid’ copyright in the past, tile makers were often known to produce similar versions of the same key design.
The use of English tiles on Chinese tombs, considered to be the ‘home in the next life’, shows a genuine appreciation of alternatives to traditional Chinese forms of decoration. It’s fascinating to see the overlap of cultures at such an intimate and important space, regarded by many as Singapore’s best ‘outdoor museum’.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about English tiles in Singapore!
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Jennifer