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KINTSUGI: LOSS & REBIRTH

By David Yip

Kintsugi is one of the least known of traditional Japanese arts. Literally meaning “joining with gold”, kintsugi is the technique of piecing together broken pottery or glass with lacquer, rice glue and gold.

 

Sisters Gieke and Lotte, founder of Humade, an art haven based in the Netherlands that specialises in the new kintsugi technique

 

The art embodies the Japanese philosophy of “no mind”, which teaches freedom from attachment to anything, living in the moment, and the acceptance of change and fate as aspects of human life. In Japanese aesthetics, flaws and imperfections are embraces, and visible marks of wear and usage are valued. The art of kintsugi makes no attempt to hide the damage. Instead, the repair is literally illuminated. Paradoxically, the repaired item often becomes more valuable in the process.

 

Kintsugi‘s origins date back to the late 15th century, when the Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl to China for repairs. When it came back, they saw it was repaired using ugly metal staples, which prompted the Japanese craftsmen to look for a more elegant method of restoration.

 

Kintsugi was initially a simple repair craft that used a mixture of rice glue and urushi (lacquer). Powdered gold was usually applied to the repaired patch or seam before the urushi set, although the materials and levels of embellishment varied. The process of repair was dictated by the lines and contours of the breakage, and inevitable resulted in a visually attractive presentation. Over time, larger repairs were enhanced by decorative patterns and illustrations painted with urushi or a fine grade of powdered metal, a technique known as maki-e.

 

Teapot and a cup, repaired using the new kintsugi technique — a new way of gluing porcelain with gold based on the old kintsugi technique

 

The skill and artistry of the craftsmen reached such a perfection that collectors were known to break valuable pieces so they could be repaired using this method.

 

This abstract approach for restoration using laborious yet, creative methods in building up layers of lacquer is now highly celebrated and has inspired a younger generation of artists. In the past, there were artisans who specialised in kintsugi, but demand for it has fallen.

 

Plates repaired using the new kintsugi technique

 

Today, kintsugi is practised in conjunction with other art forms, such as maki-e lacquer ware. However, the last 10 years have seen a surge of interest, particularly among the Japanese youth, in whom changing attitudes towards mass production and conformity are ties to a growing appreciation for conserving and recycling precious resources.

 

With its celebration of imperfection and impermancnce, kintsugi speaks powefully of the idea of loss, destruction and rebirth in human affairs — nothing is pure or lasts forever. Timon Screech, Professor of Art at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London, commented, “As far as I know, kintsugi is the only art that has taken this as its very purpose.”

 

All images courtesy of Humade, a Dutch art haven that offers DIY kintsugi kits

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