Bukit Brown Cemetery Heritage Tiles - Tomb Art
Lianhe Zaobao newspaper, 21 October, 2019.
Bukit Brown Cemetery retains a large number of antique tiles, with some more than a hundred years old, and some of which are the only surviving tiles unique to local trends. The various styles of these colourful heritage tiles originates from the three major art styles of that era, namely, the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
Ms Jennifer Lim, an Australian and the director of the Singapore Heritage Tile Project, moved to Singapore a couple of years ago. Her ancestors were native Singaporeans though. Her great--great-grandfather, great-grandfather, maternal great-grandfather and maternal great-grandmother were buried at The Bukit Brown Cemetery. Ms. Lim has all along been fascinated by antiques and she hopes to give back to Singapore with her "Singapore Heritage Tiles" project.
When it comes to local heritage tiles, many people would immediately think of the coloured tiles on the walls of old shophouses. However, a lot of these beautiful coloured tiles were destroyed in the 70s and 80s together with the demolition of the old shop houses. Today, one can hardly locate any heritage tiles in the streets of Singapore.
With the exception of some temples, there are only two places in Singapore left If one wishes to see a wide variety of heritage tiles. One of them is the "Peranakan Tiles Gallery" at Temple Street. Another place is Bukit Brown Cemetery. Yes, Bukit Brown Cemetery!
This unexpected place has retained a large number of antique or heritage tiles, some even more than a hundred years old, and some of which are the only surviving local styles.
In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Raymond Goh, a grave hunter, shared that the cemetery ground, known locally as "Kopi Sua" or "Bukit Brown", is in fact made up of several connected cemeteries. These include Bukit Brown Municipal Cemetery, Lao Sua, Kopi Sua and the Seh Ong Cemetery. The cemeteries have a total area of nearly 160 hectares and have about 200,000 graves.
Bukit Brown Cemetery is believed to be the largest Chinese cemetery outside China and is also the resting place of many local famous Chinese pioneers such as Chew Boon Lay, Cheang Hong Lim and Lim Chong Pang. This makes the cemetery a truly rich cultural heritage site.
Documenting The Heritage Tiles of Bukit Brown Cemetery
Eight years ago, following the announcement by the Land Transport Authority of the construction of a highway cutting across Bukit Brown Cemetery to help ease traffic congestion on Lornie Road, and the exhumation of graves affected by the road project, many people became aware of the rich historical and cultural heritage value of the place. Singaporeans suddenly realised that this cemetery contains a large amount of precious historical artefacts of the pioneers of this land.
Artist Ms. Lim (43) is one of those who likes to learn about art history from studying tombstones. She moved to Singapore from Australia with her husband and children seven years ago. Unlike most immigrants, Ms. Lin's ancestors were Singaporeans. Her father was born in Singapore and migrated to Australia as an adult. Her great-great grandfather, great-grandfather, maternal great-grandmother and maternal great-grandmother are all buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery.
On one occasion in 2012, when Ms. Lim visited Bukit Brown Cemetery with her relatives to perform Tomb-Sweeping duties, she started to notice tiles used as decorative on the tombstones.
After having stayed in Singapore for so many years, Ms. Lim has also become fascinated with antique tiles and has incorporated various tile patterns into her own art works.
Hence, a suggestion was put forth to Ms. Lim for her to document and photograph the rich variety of heritage tiles found in Bukit Brown Cemetery and compile them into a book.
By December 2018, Ms. Lim had made several trips to the cemeteries of Bukit Brown, Seh Ong Sua, Lao Sua and Kopi Sua to determine whether there was a sufficient amount of rare tiles to be compiled into a book.
In February this year, when Ms. Lim was participating in a guided tour of the Bukit Brown Cemetery, she noticed the presence of a newly-constructed MRT station (Bukit Brown MRT Station) in the vicinity of the cemetery grounds. She realised that if the cemetery had to give way to development in future, the decorative heritage tiles would be lost together with the old tombs.
"I dropped by Joo Chiat Road subsequently and observed that many of the tiles found at Bukit Brown Cemetery were not present on the conserved shophouses. I told myself that I had to carry out this project and document heritage tiles at the cemetery."
120 Tiles To Purchase A Grave Plot
Victor Lim, 57, founder of the Peranakan Tiles Gallery, is one of the volunteer guides at the Bukit Brown Cemetery. As an avid "Peranakan Tile Collector ", he pays special attention to the decorative tiles on the shoulders and arms of tombs ever since he began leading the public into the cemetery grounds on guided walks in 2012. He once counted the decorative tiles used on the tomb of a rich businessman, Mr Ong Sam Leong, and concluded that there were a total of 7060 pieces. He also derived that there were hundreds of different tile patterns on the tomb of Mr Ong Sam Leong, of which some of them had been completed peeled off over time. Mr Leong died in 1918, and his tomb area covers three tennis courts, making it the largest Chinese tomb in the area.
"In the 1920s, the price of a burial plot was 15 dollars and the price of a tile was 12.5 cents, " Mr. Lim said. "120 tiles were sufficient to purchase a burial plot, and this shows how expensive tiles were back in those days."
Mr. Lim also indicated that although people are used to calling heritage tiles 'Peranakan Tiles', in fact, back in the olden days in Singapore, the usage of these tiles were not exclusive to the Straits-born Chinese. The only reason why heritage tiles were found more commonly on the tombs of the Straits-born Chinese were due to the fact that they were wealthier, compared to the newly-arrived Chinese immigrants from China.
Although Bukit Brown Cemetery was the final resting place of many rich and wealthy Chinese, both Straits-born and new immigrants, another reason heritage tiles were found more commonly on the tombs of the Straits-born Chinese was due to the fact that the Straits-born Chinese regarded tombs as their homes in the afterlife. Since the Straits-born Chinese were fond of decorating their homes in the mortal world with tiles to highlight their wealth status, they chose to also bring this practice into their homes in the afterlife.
With the help of tomb hunter, Raymond Goh, Ms. Lim discovered the oldest tiled tomb in Bukit Brown Cemetery, which was erected 109 years ago, in 1910.
The tomb is decorated with more than 20 different, sleek majolica tiles, and even the Earth Deity altar of the Tomb is also decorated with beautiful tiles.
The Production of Heritage Tiles - from Europe to Japan
According to Mr. Lim, information found in old newspapers reveals that Singapore began importing British tiles as early as 1891, followed by tiles from Belgium, Germany and France, and even Greece.
After World War I, the British tile industry collapsed, and the manufacturers sold their machines to Japanese companies. From the late 1910s to the early 1920s, Japan's tile-production technology became more sophisticated and cheaper, and so it was favoured by the wealthy locals. Imports of Japanese tiles increased, gradually replacing European brick. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s and the outbreak of World War II caused a global shutdown of the production of these tiles.
"Before the war, the tiles contained a metallic lead glaze, which made the colours of the tiles look bright and bright, " Mr. Limsaid. "But subsequently, when people found that lead is harmful to human health, the production of lead-coloured bricks was halted. Colour pigments were used in the production of tiles manufactured after the end of World War II."
Reporters, who followed Ms. Lim into the ground of Bukit Brown cemetery, discovered the historical evolution of tiles is clearly reflected on the tombs of differing eras. Early graves in the cemetery grounds are decorated with European tiles. In the period circa 1920s, a mixture of coloured tiles manufactured in Europe and Japan were used. After that period, most tiles found on graves are Japanese tiles.
Art Trends and Tile Patterns
Mr. Lim shared that the patterns on the tiles actually reflect the art trends of that era. The early tile patterns highlighted the three major art genres of the time, the Arts and Crafts Movement (starting around 1880), Art Nouveau (starting around 1890) and Art Deco (from the 1920s to the 1930s).
The first two art genres centred on flora and fauna, but tile patterns of the Arts and Crafts Movement, look finer, with more details highlighted; whereas tile patterns influenced by the Art Deco emphasize on the beauty of composition and modern geometric lines. For German and French tiles, they centred mainly on blue drawings on a white backdrop, and this is very much similar to the Chinese Blue and White Porcelain.
Mr. Lim also pointed out that tile patterns aligned to the Art and Crafts Movement, rarely appeared in tombs after the 1930s. Instead, Japanese tiles were more commonly found on tombs dated from 1930 onwards.
Initially, the patterns on the Japanese tiles were similar to that of those found on European tiles Subsequently, in order to cater to the preferences of customers, new patterns were created. These included favourites of the Chinese community such as pomegranate, apples and peaches, which symbolise plentiful offsprings, peace and longevity respectively. Ms. Limobserved that fewer geometric-patterned tiles were found on tombs after 1930, and the patterns found on the tiles of that era focused on flora and fauna, and with the occasional animal patterns, of which peacocks were the most popular. This is true even for the tombs of her ancestors. This may be due to the fact that the Chinese view the peacock as an auspicious bird - a symbol of longevity, Some Chinese also think that the peacock is an incarnation of the phoenix.
Other animals appearing as tiles on tombs include goldfish, tigers, geese, parrots, cattle, and the three auspicious and mythological creatures: the Dragon, the Phoenix and the Qilin.In addition to flowers and animals, landscapes can also be seen on tiles of that era. Interestingly, the landscape paintings on the tiles usually depicted the natural landscapes of Europe and Japan, and most often Japan's Mount Fuji, followed by images including waterfalls, windmills, European churches.
Ms. Lim has also discovered twenty-four stories of filial piety reflected on some tiles. This highlights the importance that the Chinese family placed on cultivating filial piety within the family.
Mr. Lim pointed out the patterns of the tiles of later era were painted partially by hand, which differs greatly from the patterns found on tiles produced much earlier. These partially hand-painted tiles were quite commonly found on shophouses as well back in the olden days. However, with the demolition of a large number of old shophouses, these tiles of diverse patterns can now only be found on tombs at Bukit Brown Cemetery.
200 Differing Tile Patterns
Over the past 10 months, Ms. Lim has made some 50 visits to the cemetery, including 18 tomb-cleaning exercises with 100 volunteers, cleaning nearly 2,000 tiles from more than 200 tombs. These sessions also resulted in the discovery of more than 200 different tile patterns. Amongst the volunteers, locals as well as many expatriates involved. Before the commencement of each cleaning session, Ms. Lin would share with volunteers the traditional tomb-sweeping customs and rites of the Chinese, and also the precautions to take when entering the cemetery grounds, such as not stepping on gravestones, not touching tombstones and respecting the deceased. She also selected graves that appeared to be unvisited by relatives.
"I came to Bukit Brown Cemetery and manage to trace my roots. Now, I just wish to give back to Singapore with the Singapore Heritage Tile Project," Ms. Lim said.
She plans to document and collate photographs of the heritage tiles discovered on the tombs of Bukit Brown Cemetery, along with the tiles she found in her shop and clubhouse on Club Street. Ms. Lim also plans to consult heritage tile experts in Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and the UK to provide advice on organising and publishing her collection into a book. In addition, she will also choose a few beautiful tile patterns and print them on calendars for the new year.
Interested people can visit her website: www.jenniferlimmart.com
Translation kindly provided by Ng Kwok Hua
武吉布朗坟场彩砖 坟上艺术
联合早报
文 / 陈莹纮摄影 / 梁伟康剪辑 / 陈重仁摄像 / 梁伟康, 刘永健编导 / 陈莹纮, 刘永健
武吉布朗坟场保留大量的古董彩砖，有些超过百年，一些则是本地硕果仅存的款式。这些彩砖风格反映当时三大艺术流派，即艺术与工艺运动、新艺术与装饰艺术。
移居本地的林薇美祖先是新加坡人，高祖父、曾祖父、外曾祖父和外曾祖母都葬在武吉布朗坟场。她迷上古董，希望能以“新加坡传统瓷砖”项目回馈新加坡。
说到本地的古董花砖，许多人马上联想到旧店屋墙上的彩色瓷砖。然而，不少漂亮的彩砖随着七八十年代很多旧店屋被拆除，也随之被敲掉，现在路上能看到的旧花砖款式有限。想要看到款式种类众多的花砖，除了一些庙宇，只能到两个地方：位于牛车水登婆街（Temple St.）的“娘惹砖家土生荟萃馆”与武吉布朗坟场。
是的，在坟场。这个意想不到的地方保留大量的古董花砖，一些甚至超过百年，一些则是本地硕果仅存的款式。
寻墓人吴安全接受《联合早报》访问时说，被人们笼统称为“咖啡山”或“武吉布朗”的坟地，其实由好几个相连的坟场组成，包括武吉布朗、老山、咖啡山和王氏家族公坟（姓王山）。这些坟场的总面积近160公顷，有约20万座坟墓。广义的武吉布朗坟场相信是中国以外，最大的华人坟场，也是许多本地华社先贤如周文礼、章芳林及林忠邦等人的坟墓所在地，蕴藏着本地丰富的文化遗产。
记录坟场特别彩砖
八年前，陆路交通管理局为疏解罗尼路交通拥挤的情况，决定建穿山新公路，一些坟墓因此必须让位。很多人忽然发现，原来坟山也是一种历史文化遗产，蕴含很多先人的珍贵史料。
艺术家林薇美（43岁）是其中一个喜欢从坟墓了解文史的人。她在七年前同丈夫和孩子从澳大利亚移居本地工作。与一般移民不同的是，林薇美的祖先是新加坡人。她的父亲在新加坡出生，后来才移民到澳洲。她的高祖父、曾祖父、外曾祖父和外曾祖母都葬在武吉布朗坟场。她随亲戚上山扫墓，开始注意到用来装饰墓碑的瓷砖。
在新加坡生活后，林薇美渐渐着迷于古董瓷砖，将各种瓷砖图案用在自己的艺术创作里。有人建议她，既然这么喜欢古董瓷砖，不如把武吉布朗坟场内的彩砖照片收集成册。
去年12月开始，林薇美多次走入武吉布朗、姓王山、老山和咖啡山坟场，目的是要确认那里的彩砖是否特别少见，数量是否充足，值不值得撰写成书。
今年2月，她参与一场武吉布朗坟场导览团时，看到附近正在兴建地铁站，忽然意识到坟场未来如果得让路给发展建设，充作坟墓装饰的彩砖也难逃终将消失的命运。
“我到如切一带走走时发现，坟场内看到的不少彩砖都没有出现在外面的店屋上。我告诉自己，一定要做这个项目，记录坟场内特别的彩砖。”
120片瓷砖可买一坟地
娘惹砖家土生荟萃馆的创办人林明辉（57岁）是武吉布朗坟场的义务导览员之一。身为“娘惹砖家”，他特别留意墓肩和墓手的瓷砖，从2012年开始带公众走进坟场看瓷砖。他曾经细数过富商王三龙坟碑地面的7060片瓷砖，总结该坟场有上百种不同的瓷砖，可惜大多已剥落。王三龙1918年逝世，墓地占地三个网球场大，堪称本地最大的华人坟墓。
林明辉说：“1920年代，一片坟地的价钱是15元，一片瓷砖的价格为12.5分。120片瓷砖就能够买一片坟地，可见瓷砖的价格有多么昂贵。”
虽然人们习惯把瓷砖称为“娘惹砖”，其实任何人都可以买和用，不限于土生华人，只是那个年代，海峡华人或土生华人较富裕。武吉布朗坟场埋葬了很多大户人家，包括华人和土生华人。土生华人将坟墓视为往生后的家，因此生前在住家用瓷砖显富贵，死后也一样如此。
林薇美在寻墓人吴安全的帮助下，找到最古老的彩砖坟墓，立于1910年，距今已109年，往生者是一名35岁的陈氏女性。该坟墓以超过20种不同，表面光滑的马约利卡瓷砖装饰，连旁边的土地神位也镶有漂亮的瓷砖。
彩砖生产从欧洲到日本
林明辉说，据从旧报纸找到的资料，新加坡早在1891年就开始进口英国花砖，之后还进口比利时、德国和法国，甚至是希腊的花砖。第一次世界大战后，英国瓷砖产业瓦解，制造商纷纷将机器卖给日本公司。
1910年代末至1920年代初，日本的花砖制造技术越来越纯熟，价格也比较便宜，因此受本地富人青睐，进口的数量越来越多，逐渐取代欧洲花砖。然而，1930年代全球经济大萧条，以及不久之后第二次世界大战爆发，全球停产瓷砖。
林明辉说：“在那之前的瓷砖含有金属色铅釉，这能让彩砖的颜色看起来很鲜艳明亮。可是后来人们发现铅对人体有害，停止生产含铅彩砖。二战以后生产的彩砖使用的都是色素。”
记者跟随林薇美走进坟场时发现，原来一座座坟墓早已无声地记录彩砖的历史演变：早期坟墓使用欧洲彩砖，1920年代左右竖立的坟墓使用的彩砖则欧洲和日本的参半，在那之后的坟墓大部分使用的都是日本彩砖。
彩砖图案受艺术潮流影响
不同的彩砖图案花纹，也反映那个年代的流行艺术。
林明辉说，早期的瓷砖图案风格反映当时的三大艺术流派，即艺术与工艺运动（Arts & Crafts Movement，约1880年开始）、新艺术（Art Nouveau，约1890年开始）以及装饰艺术（Art Deco，约1920至1930年代）的影响。
前两者皆以自然花卉植物为素材，但艺术与工艺运动的彩砖图案，看起来比较精细，细节比较多；新艺术彩砖虽花团锦簇，但比较抽象，使用更多曲线来表现自然之美。受装饰艺术影响的彩砖图案则强调构图及现代几何线条的美感。德国与法国的花砖则以白底蓝图案为主，与中国的青花瓷有异曲同工之处。
林薇美指出，受艺术与工艺运动影响的彩砖图案，很少出现在1930年代以后的坟墓。那个时候的坟墓大多都用日产彩砖。
日产彩砖刚开始还沿用欧洲样式，后来为了迎合顾客的口味，创造出新的图案，包括华人喜欢的石榴、苹果、桃子，象征多子多孙、平安与长寿。
林薇美发现，这些坟墓上较少用几何图案的彩砖，因此坟场里看到的彩砖大多是花草图案，偶尔也出现动物图案，其中以孔雀最受欢迎，就连她的祖先的坟墓也有。这或许是因为华人将孔雀视为吉祥飞禽，象征长寿，也有人认为它是凤凰化身。其他出现在坟墓彩砖上的动物包括金鱼、老虎、鹅、鹦鹉、牛，以及龙、凤和麒麟这三个吉祥动物。
除了花草和动物，第三种图案是风景画。有趣的是，这些都是欧洲和日本的自然风景，最常出现的是日本的富士山，其次还有瀑布、风车、欧洲教堂等等。林薇美还找到二十四孝故事的彩砖，可见往生者家人对于孝道的重视。
林明辉指出，后期出现的都是半手绘的色素彩砖，与早期的古董彩砖不同。他说，其实这些彩砖以前在新加坡很常见，但随着旧屋拆除后，坟场就成为少数还集合多样化彩砖的地方。
200种不同瓷砖图案
过去10个月来，林薇美进出坟场50次，包括和百名义工做了18场清洗坟墓活动，清理超过200座坟墓近2000片瓷砖，找到超过200种不同的瓷砖图案。
义工团中除了本地人以外，也有不少外籍人士。林薇美在每一次的清洗活动之前，都会和义工们分享华人的传统习俗以及进入坟场时的注意事项，例如不踩墓塚，不碰墓碑、尊敬死者等等。他们也选择清理那些已无后人祭拜的坟墓。
林薇美说：“我来武吉布朗坟场寻根，收获很大，我希望能以‘新加坡传统瓷砖’项目（Singapore Heritage Tile Project）回馈新加坡。”
她打算收集坟场彩砖照片，连同她在客纳街（Club Street）的店屋和会馆内找到的彩砖，请教新加坡、日本、台湾和英国的瓷砖专家后，将心得整理和出版成书。此外，她也会挑选漂亮的彩砖图案，制作成月历。有兴趣的人可上网：jenniferlimart.com
