Tracing 6,000 years of ceramic history on the island of taiwan, this exhibition explores how the creation and use of ceramics have shaped one of the island's most enduring cultural legacies. from ancient artifacts to contemporary works, ceramics preserve the ingenuity, emotions, and craftsmanship of generations of potters, leaving behind symbolic traces, marks, imprints, and signatures that define Taiwan's ceramic identity.
Centered around the themes of "Ceramic traces," "Impressions," and "Marks," the exhibition spans from prehistoric times to the present day. it highlights the rich regional development of ceramics across Taiwan, including Nantou, Taichung, Miaoli, Hsinchu, Beitou, and Yingge. Through an engaging and accessible narrative, visitors are invited to discover the cultural significance of taiwanese ceramic history and gain a deeper understanding of its place within both civilization and taiwan's broader cultural heritage.
In the process of making pottery, human beings not only overcome numerous technical challenges to produce vessels of practical use, but also devote considerable effort to carving and impressing decorative patterns upon them. This seemingly “unnecessary” act is, in fact, one of the most precious aspects of human civilization.
Pottery is a unique object created to meet the needs of daily life. Yet people willingly invest additional effort to leave marks upon its surface—simply to express ideas and emotions. To give form to these abstract or semi-abstract sentiments, they even develop specialized tools for expression. This continuous cycle of creation distinguishes human beings from other species and fuels the accumulation of civilization.
Archaeological excavations in Taiwan have yielded large quantities of prehistoric pottery fragments, revealing that once basic material needs were met, early inhabitants still devoted time and energy to conveying emotion and perception through ceramic marks. Beyond utility, humans have always pursued beauty, symbolism, and spiritual communication. This ineffable inner world propelled the refinement of technique and gradually transformed abstract emotions into shared symbols. Thus, meaning became inscribed upon objects, woven into everyday life, and enduringly preserved within ceramic.
Six Thousand Years in Perspective
Over six thousand years of Taiwan’s ceramic history, the evolution of ceramic marks can be clearly traced.
In the Dapenkeng Culture of the early Neolithic period, approximately six thousand years ago, rich decorative traditions emerged, including coarse cord-marking, comb patterns, and incised designs. Between four thousand and two thousand years ago, during the middle to late Neolithic period, shell impressions, red and black painted decoration, and applied relief patterns developed in remarkable variety. During the Metal Age, carved paddle-impressed and mold-impressed designs appeared.
Over the past three centuries, pottery production among Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples and Han settlers has fluctuated in shifting balance. While Indigenous ceramics gradually waned under the influence of external cultural forces, surface marks reveal ongoing exchange and mutual learning between the two traditions. Traces of Plains Indigenous paddle stamping remain discernible.
The Japanese colonial period marked a significant turning point. The widespread incorporation of textual inscriptions and glazed decoration fostered the emergence of trademark awareness and regional identity. Place names, kiln names, and kiln owners’ names gradually became identifying marks, and ceramics began to acquire a distinct identity of their own. Yet the potters themselves often remained hidden behind these small symbols.
Approximately half a century ago, with the growing participation of artists and the awakening of individual consciousness, signatures and personal marks became central to value and identification. For the first time, ceramic works clearly bore the names of their creators, and personal marks became a basis for authentication.
Over the past century, technological developments have brought dramatic transformations to marking forms. Paddle stamping—once the dominant technique for thousands of years—has nearly disappeared over the past five decades. In its place, decals, base stamps, and handwritten signatures have become the prevailing practices in contemporary ceramics.
Regional Features
Miaoli
Due to its production of government-commissioned wine jars, Miaoli displays the greatest variety of marks. At least 204 distinct marks have been documented from 25 kilns, excluding oval rim stamps and other decorative impressions. The inscriptions primarily consist of factory names, kiln owners’ names, dates, and artisan codes. The techniques most commonly employed include paddle stamping, press-molding, and applied clay seals.
Dajia East, Taichung
More than fifty types of marks were documented, emphasizing place names and factory names. Custom inscriptions also appear, including “Produced in 1955”, Gregorian calendar dates, and “Taiwan Province”.
Jinliancheng, Hsinchu
Jinliancheng kiln of Hsinchu is renowned for horizontal paddle stamping and compositions arranged in three-flower motifs or three-square pin (品) formations. It stands as a representative example of paddle-stamping craftsmanship.
Nantou
During the Qing dynasty, Nantou ceramics were known for inlay, openwork, and relief carving. In the Japanese colonial period, Xiede Kiln used the base stamp “Taiwan Nantou”, thereby establishing Taiwan’s name as an early marker of regional identity.
Beitou and Yingge
With the development of porcelain production, blue-and-white decoration, glaze stamping, and signed inscriptions became defining features. During the Taisho period of Japanese rule, Kamoto Shozaburo established brand recognition through hand-painted blue-and-white crane bowls. In the later period, the rise of artistic production emphasized personal signatures and base stamps, ushering in a wave of individualism.
Major Yingge factories such as “Yichengji”, “Qingfeng,” and “Hocheng” left distinctive industrial marks, while imitation reign marks also emerged as a notable phenomenon. Individual potters such as Zeng Caiwan (“Master A-Wan”) and Li Qingbiao (“Jinfeng Sixiang”, meaning “Four Symbols of the Golden Peak”) expressed their personal styles through individual ceramic marks.
Classification and Significance of Marks and Inscriptions
Decorative Patterns
The earliest decorative patterns appeared as coarse and fine cord-marking. Over time, they evolved to symbolize specific meanings and emotions or were simplified into geometric motifs. Common patterns include spiral motifs, straight-line patterns, turtle-shell impressions, dot patterns and rice-grain motifs—forming a characteristic vocabulary of ceramic artisans.
Ceramic Factory Names
These became widespread during the Japanese colonial period under industrial regulation and local specialty policies. Examples include Fengronghao of Dajia East and Jinliancheng of Hsinchu.
Place Names
Emphasizing the place of production, such as Dajia East, Nantou ware, Gongguan ware, and Toufen.
Owners’ Names
Names such as Lin Rongfei and Ye Fengquan indicate ownership and the operating entity.
Artisans’ Marks
Circles, numbers, or other symbols, were often used for piecework accounting and wage calculations.
Date Marks
Examples include “Produced in 1955” or “Year 51,” with occasional references to Taisho or Showa era dates.
Custom Marks
Custom-made imprints such as the national emblem, Taiwan Railways, Red Dew Liquor, or pickled mustard greens—serving both identification and promotional purposes.
Personal Signatures and Seals
Creative marks of master potters, craftsmen, and artists, which serve as indicators of authorship and value.
Others
Congratulatory phrases, auspicious motifs, and advertising symbols.
Techniques and Tools
Carving
Primarily a subtractive technique, including incised lines, punctate marks, and comb patterns. Tools evolved from bone, shell, stone, and bamboo or wood to iron nails and steel needles.
Impressing
Divided into pressing and paddle stamping, this technique has played a significant role throughout the history of ceramics. It developed from cord-marking to carved paddles and character-stamping tools. Character paddle stamping reached its peak in the 1960s and is now nearly extinct.
Painting
From prehistoric red and black pigments to blue-and-white, underglaze, and overglaze decoration, writing and painting with slip or glaze have remained essential modes of expression.
Appliqué
Clay strips or slabs are applied to the surface of the vessel to create decorative effects.