Why are shrimps painted on old Taiwanese plates?
V0#3: on folk ceramic art, prosperity, and nostalgia
Austin and I first noticed shrimp plates at his tea master’s teashop in Taipei. Sipping through a delicious sampling of teas, we noticed that the teacup was served on a small soy sauce dish, beige in color, with red, hand-painted shrimps.
It was delightfully drawn, and caught our attention, too, for “shrimp” has, in recent years, become one of my nicknames, thanks to my often-poor posture. The dishes have been in his family for years, and the tea-master, with a penchant for vintage items, cherishes them dearly.
Weeks later, at the ceramic museum in Yingge, the “ceramic capital” of Taiwan since the mid-century, there were more examples of shrimp plates and bowls, large and small:
Shrimp plates weren’t just part of the tea master’s, but many Taiwanese’s, family history.
History and style of shrimp plates
In the early and mid-century, painted plates were popular, as they were the style of its time. Flora, fauna, scenery, fruits, animals, and livestock were common subjects depicted, including chicken, fish, and shrimp.
Back then, Taiwan was poor. A meal with fish or shrimp was considered abundant, a special meal. Even if you couldn’t afford shrimp, the painted shrimp was a sign of prosperity. Shrimp is also an auspicious symbol for vitality, good luck and fortune.
Taiwanese ceramics are influenced by Japan and China, and local production began in the Qing dynasty, concentrated first in Nantou, later in Beitou (in New Taipei, a hot-spring hot spot today), before moving to Yingge in the 60s in order to move industry out of the city. During the Qing dynasty and Japanese colonial period, Taiwan’s ceramic industry was still immature, and Taiwan relied on imports from Japan and China, which would later be interrupted by World War Two and the Nationalist government’s retreat to Taiwan and subsequent end of trade — conditions that supported Yingge’s boon.
Shrimp plates in Taiwan are typically found in two styles, in blue or red. The shrimp is usually singular, without additional scenery or animals. Its body is curved, with long, lively whiskers reaching forward, which is more common for those made in Taiwan, according to one source, whereas those with whiskers made bending backward are more commonly made in Japan. However, the plates I saw in person and online don’t appear to match this pattern.
Shrimp plates today
Roaming around the streets of Yingge, we wanted to try our luck and find these vintage plates – museum relics! – for sale. The dustier the ceramic shop, the more we held out hope.
Many shop owners seemed amused at our mission. “They are very old!“
One lady in her 40s said that she grew up with shrimp plates. Then, they fell out of fashion – she might have even called them ugly – and she threw away a whole box, which wasn’t even worth the cost of trash collection, so she drove it straight to the dumpsters.
It likely fell out of fashion as Taiwan industrialized and became richer. Larger scale operations took over quaint hand-painted pottery, and the charming folk art seemed old-fashioned.
To celebrate the quotidian ceramic arts, there’s a Taiwan Bowl & Dish Museum in Yilan County. Founded in 2011, the museum draws from the founder’s personal collection, and features over 30,000 items, with detailed online cataloging on selected items like this pink shrimp bowl.
Contemporary takes
What goes out of fashion comes back around again. Some of the plates that didn’t meet the fate of the dumpster found themselves online. Austin was able to find these on the internet:
Other brands are designing modern takes on the old plates. This plate from PEKOE is part of its “Vintage Taiwan” series. The company partnered with a fourth-generation potter to hand-make and hand-paint these plates in Yingge. The collection aims to show "the exuberant vitality of life” in early Taiwanese society, and includes plates and bowls with images like persimmons and fish. The colors are more muted than in the original, the shrimp is more orange-red, the rim is a paler blue than that seen in blue-and-white porcelain, and the base is a soft beige rather than a sharp, simple white, or the natural yellowing through age. A pastel color palette more palatable to contemporary tastes.
Another example comes from TZULAï, a Taiwanese home-goods brand, '“borne out of love for Taiwanese culture.” Founded in 2013, the team used to manufacture for high-end European home-goods brands before using their design and manufacturing know-know to create a brand.
This is their take on the shrimp plate, to evoke the “boisterous, high spirited” energy of a Taiwanese meal. Unlike traditional shrimp plates, there’s a trio of shrimp rather than an individual, they’re off to the side rather than boldly center-stage, the whiskers are shorter and less flamboyant, and it shares the plate with sprigs of garnish, presumably cilantro. Unlike the PEKEO plates, these are made in China.
The shrimp plates reflect Taiwan’s humbler past, with its developing economy and growing domestic pottery industry and craft. Even in times of lack, a painted shrimp and a modest meal, around which a family can gather around, is its own kind of wealth.
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