Japanese Ceramic Repair Technique

Artisans began using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together.

Japanese ceramic repair technique.

As a philosophy it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something. Some four or five centuries ago in japan a lavish technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics. Kintsugi is a technique of repairing broken porcelain earthenware pottery and glass with resins and lacquers that come from trees. Most repairs hide themselves the goal is usually to make something as good as new.

Poetically translated to golden joinery kintsugi or kintsukuroi is the centuries old japanese art of fixing broken pottery 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. It dates from the 15th century. 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. Kintsugi proposes that repair can make things better than new.

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. Subtle kintsugi repairs on this 19th century glazed. More than merely a craft technique kintsugi is an outgrowth of the japanese philosophy of wabi sabi a belief in the beauty of imperfections.