Ceramics Repaired With Gold

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.

Ceramics repaired with gold.

It s called kintsugi 金継ぎ or kintsukuroi 金繕い literally golden kin and repair tsugi. Our ceramic repair conservators work with hard and soft paste porcelain bone china stoneware terracotta earthenware and glass to create invisible repairs. As a philosophy it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something. 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.

Rather than rejoin ceramic pieces with a camouflaged adhesive the kintsugi technique employs a special tree sap lacquer dusted with powdered gold silver or platinum. Artisans began using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together. If an accident happens our experienced conservators can repair damaged chipped or cracked ceramics ornaments tableware pottery sculptures and figurines whether modern or antique. Some four or five centuries ago in japan a lavish technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics.

In the 500 year old art of kintsugi which translates more or less as joining with gold broken pottery is repaired with a seam of lacquer and precious metal. 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. The translation from japanese of kintsugi or kintsukuroi means golden joinery or repair with gold where the gold powder is applied on lacquer some refer to it as kintsugi art with a metaphor of kintsugi life re birth or wabi sabi philosophy this technique transforms broken ceramic or pottery into beautiful. Japanese kintsukuroi chawan.

This inspired him to find an elegant way to amend the ceramic and as a result kintsugi was born. Once completed beautiful seams of gold glint in the conspicuous cracks of ceramic wares giving a one of a kind appearance to each repaired piece. This tradition known as kintsugi meaning golden seams or kintsukuroi golden repair is still going strong. 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.

The history of kintsugi.