Enamel jewelry and crafts have an illustrious history in China, but ordinary manufactured enamelware — from simple mugs to basins and spittoons — has a place in the hearts of many Chinese.
The patterns of big red peonies, pink blossoms, cranes, political slogans and pictures of Chairman Mao Zedong evoke nostalgia for earlier days, as well as harder and simpler times.
Many people remember the days when colorful enameled thermos bottles filled with hot water were everywhere.
In later days, most were stenciled kitsch but earlier pieces, though they were mass produced, were more original, even artistic, designed by prominent artists assigned to enamel factories.
The 100th anniversary of the first commercial production of enamelware is celebrated this year.
When Shanghai's last enamelware workshop closed on September 23, 2002, factory director Xie Dangwei was the last one to leave. He gazed at the furnace and wept. Then he walked out of the factory and closed the iron gate with a clang.
Xie, now 58, joined the Shanghai Jiuxin Enamel Factory in 1973. He started out spraying decoration on stencils and progressed to head the factory.
After 30 years in the industry, he is an enthusiastic collector and has amassed 2,600 pieces. His apartment in northeast Shanghai's Hongkou District contains 800 of them and Xie has rented a room for the rest.
He hopes one day to hold an exhibition.
Producing vitreous enamel or porcelain enamel is an ancient craft. It is made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate, often metal, by firing. The powder melts, flows and then hardens to a smooth, durable coating. The term "enamel" usually refers to work on metal.
Ordinary enamel utensils were cheap, durable and part of daily life in the 1950s-80s.
At Xie's factory, everyone would eat lunch out of enameled bowls. In summer, workers sometimes got popsicles and ice cream late in the day; they placed the treats in enamel mugs, covered them with towel and immediately took them home for their children.
"When I was a child, the happiest time in summer was when I came home, bathed in sweat, and there was always a drink of water in an enamel mug that my grandma had cooled," recalls Ivy Chen, now 55.
She hasn't used enamelware for years but she remembers the mug, "white with loudly painted flowers.
"I don't know if it was because of the enamel, but even the tap water tasted sweet," she says.
"For many people of my generation, enamelware is not just a household item, but something that reminds them of years gone by," Xie says.
According to Xie, the Austro-Hungarian Empire imported enamelware to China in 1878 and in 1916 a British businessman established the first enamelware factory in Shanghai.
At the time of peak production, China had 122 factories producing enamelware for domestic use and export.
Xie was born into a poor family in Shanghai and when he was 18 he was assigned to an enamel factory to spray decoration on enamel ware.
He wanted to do more and attached himself to a skilled craftsman. Every day he arrived at 6am and prepared tools and pigments for his mentor and for himself.
"Newcomers didn't get to do the flowers but only the leaves," Xia recalls. The petals of the flowers required different layers of the same color and the furnace heat had to be precisely controlled, he said.
Burns and scars were common, but Xie was determined. At home after work, he pictured everything his mentor did.
Five years after he started at the factory, Xie was honored for his work as a furnace poker. That stoked his enthusiasm for decorating the enamel work.
He started collecting.
When he had a little money, he used to buy enamel pieces. Sometimes, friends and older people would give him gifts of interesting works after they saw his passion.
For around 40 years, he has been collecting enamel work, both domestic and foreign, simple and elaborate.
Some influential painters such as Qi Baishi and Cheng Shifa designed patterns for enamel dishes. During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), many painters were accused of being bourgeois intellections and were assigned to enamel factories to be reformed through labor. That's when some of the best decorations were created.
Most people remember enamel decorated with big flowers in vivid colors. At his apartment, Xie takes out a basin with crimson sides and a white bottom covered with big crimson peonies. It's festive but a bit tacky.
The basin was part of a popular set that included two basins, two mugs and two spittoons, he says. It cost 112 yuan (US$18.36) back then. In the early 1980s, the pack was included in the better dowries.
In addition to flowers, the enamels were decorated with political slogans portraits of Chairman Mao and heroic workers, peasants and soldiers, all reflecting the spirit of the times.
Recently Xia has been helping young entrepreneurs in Zhejiang Province design their own special enamel products, without charge.
"I am very glad people are starting to pay attention to enamels again," he says. The technology of poking is more advanced, the glaze is smoother and the raw materials are better.
"When I see these new products, I really hope people will welcome enamel back into their daily life," he says.
Xie never plans to sell his collection. During the past Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, he invited former coworkers home for dinner, and all the dishes were served on his best enamel dishes.
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