Japanese Ceramics Repaired With Gold

This tradition known as kintsugi meaning golden seams or kintsukuroi golden repair is still going strong.

Japanese ceramics repaired with gold.

Kintsugi is said to have originated in the 15th century when a japanese shogun broke a favorite tea bowl and sent it back to china to be fixed. Some four or five centuries ago in japan a lavish technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics. Artisans began using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together. But the repair job which was done with metal staples being the standard for repair at that time detracted from the beauty of the bowl.

As a philosophy it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something. The meaning of kintsugi kintsukuroi gold repair art. According to louise cort the curator of ceramics at the freer gallery of art and arthur m. Sackler gallery it was during this time that a japanese warrior infamously purchased broke and repaired standard tea bowls in order to make a profit that seems to indicate that by the beginning of the 17th century kintsugi was a.

By the 17th century kintsugi has become common practice in japan. The name of the technique is derived from the words kin golden and tsugi joinery which translate to mean golden repair. This traditional japanese art uses a precious metal liquid gold liquid silver or lacquer dusted with powdered gold to bring together the pieces of a broken pottery item and at the same time enhance the breaks. It s called kintsugi 金継ぎ or kintsukuroi 金繕い literally golden kin and repair tsugi.

Kintsugi is a centuries old japanese art of repairing broken pottery and transforming it into a new work of art with gold the traditional metal used in kintsugi. Japanese kintsukuroi chawan. This repair technique is called kintsugi which translates as golden joinery and uses a special lacquer mixed with gold silver or platinum to fix the object in a way that highlights rather. Kintsugi is the japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections you can create an even stronger more.

Kintsugi 金継ぎ golden joinery also known as kintsukuroi 金繕い golden repair is the japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold silver or platinum a method similar to the maki e technique.