Japanese Ceramic Repair Technique

Some four or five centuries ago in japan a lavish technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics.

Japanese ceramic repair technique.

Artisans began using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together. Subtle kintsugi repairs on this 19th century glazed. 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. More than merely a craft technique kintsugi is an outgrowth of the japanese philosophy of wabi sabi a belief in the beauty of imperfections.

Japanese kintsukuroi chawan. As a philosophy it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something. Most repairs hide themselves the goal is usually to make something as good as new. Kintsugi is a technique of repairing broken porcelain earthenware pottery and glass with resins and lacquers that come from trees.

This tradition known as kintsugi meaning golden seams or kintsukuroi golden repair is still going strong. The meaning of kintsugi kintsukuroi gold repair art. It dates from the 15th century.