Kintsugi

, also known as , 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; the method is similar to the technique... As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

Origin

Lacquerware is a longstanding tradition in Japan and, at some point, may have been combined with as a replacement for other ceramic repair techniques. While the process is associated with Japanese craftsmen, the technique was also applied to ceramic pieces of other origins including China, Vietnam, and Korea.

became closely associated with ceramic vessels used for (Japanese tea ceremony). One theory is that may have originated when Japanese Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century. When it was returned, repaired with ugly metal staples, it may have prompted Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetically pleasing means of repair. Collectors became so enamored of the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of . It is also possible that a pottery piece was chosen for deformities it had acquired during production, then deliberately broken and repaired, instead of being trashed. On the other hand, according to Bakōhan Saōki (record of tea-bowl with a 'large-locust' clamp), such "ugliness" was considered inspirational and Zen-like, as it connoted beauty in broken things. The bowl became valued even more highly because of these large metal staples, which looked like a locust, and the bowl was named ("large-locust clamp").

Philosophy

As a philosophy, is similar to the Japanese philosophy of , an embracing of the flawed or imperfect. Japanese aesthetics values marks of wear from the use of an object. This can be seen as a rationale for keeping an object around even after it has broken; it can also be understood as a justification of itself, highlighting cracks and repairs as events in the life of an object, rather than allowing its service to end at the time of its damage or breakage. The philosophy of ''kintsugi'' can also be seen as a variant of the adage, "Waste not, want not".

can relate to the Japanese philosophy of , which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.

Materials and types of joinery

There are a few major styles or types of :
* , the use of gold dust and resin or lacquer to attach broken pieces with minimal overlap or fill-in from missing pieces
* , where a replacement ceramic fragment is not available and the entirety of the addition is gold or gold/lacquer compound
* , where a similarly shaped but non-matching fragment is used to replace a missing piece from the original vessel creating a patchwork effect
Some key materials of ''kintsugi'' are: ''ki urushi'' (pure ''urushi''), ''bengara urushi'' (iron red ''urushi''), ''mugi urushi'' (a mixture of 50% ''ki ururshi'' and 50% wheat flour), ''sabi urushi'' (a mixture of ''ki urushi'' with two kinds of clay), and a storage compartment referred to as a ''furo'' ("bath" in Japanese) where the mended pottery can rest at 90% humidity for between 2 days to 2 weeks as the ''urushi'' hardens. Traditionally, a wooden cupboard and bowls of hot water were used as the ''furo''. Alternatively, thick cardboard boxes are sometimes used as the ''furo'' as they create a steady atmosphere of humidity or large vessels filled with rice, beans, or sand into which the mended pottery is submerged.

Related techniques

Staple repair is a similar technique used to repair broken ceramic pieces, where small holes are drilled on either side of a crack and metal staples are bent to hold the pieces together. Staple repair was used in Europe (in ancient Greece, England and Russia among others) and China as a repair technique for particularly valuable pieces.

Influence on contemporary art, design, and culture

is the general concept of highlighting or emphasizing imperfections, visualizing mends and seams as an additive or an area to celebrate or focus on, rather than absence or missing pieces. Modern artists and designers experiment with the ancient technique as a means of analyzing the idea of loss, synthesis, and improvement through destruction and repair or rebirth. While originally ignored as a separate art form, and related repair methods have been featured at exhibitions at the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.

Examples of contemporary artists and designers who incorporate ''kintsugi'' techniques, aesthetics, and philosophies in their work include:

* British artist Charlotte Bailey, who was inspired by ''kintsugi'' to create textile works involving the repair of broken vases; her practice involves covering the shards with fabric and stitching them back together using gold metallic thread.
*American artist Karen LaMonte, who creates monumental sculptures of women’s clothing worn by seemingly invisible human figures; when a kiln explosion broke a number of these works, LaMonte used ''kintsugi'' techniques to repair the ceramic sculptures with gold.
* New York designer George Inaki Root, who worked with Japanese artisans to create a line for his jewelry company Milamore entitled "Kintsugi"; Root told ''Forbes'' that the designs were inspired by themes of beauty and brokenness, and his longstanding connection to ''kintsugi'' philosophies.
* Los Angeles artist Victor Solomon, who was inspired by ''kintsugi'' practices and philosophies to create "Kintsugi Court", a fractured public basketball court in South Los Angeles he repaired with gold-dusted resin. The project was finished in 2020 to coincide with the restart of the NBA season, which had been paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

See also

*
*
*
*
*

References

Further reading

*

External links

*Video
"Kintsugi: The Art of Repairing and Bringing New Life to Broken Items"
from Link TV
Exhibition ''FLICKWERK The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics''
at Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca NY 2008

Kintsugi: The Art of Broken
by Audrey Harris , TEDxJanpath (video on YouTube)

Kintsugi: The Meaning of Mending
b
Adam Fulford
(video on Vimeo)

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY - Kintsugi
b
School of Life
(video on YouTube)

Kintsugi the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold

{{Cultural Conservation-Restoration

Ceramic art
Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
Japanese aesthetics
Japanese art terminology
Japanese pottery
Japanese words and phrases