This kintsugi-repaired dancing-vase measures 10.5 inches tall.
KINSTSUGI - GOLD REPAIR - has become a familiar, even fashionable, trend of late. Many tellings of it’s history have been offered….all, perhaps…. holding a shred of truth: including this one. Modern adaptation and meaning varies widely and covers a wide swath: I’ll offer my own take on Kintsugi here:
Prior to the Momoyama Era 1568 - 1600; Tokugawa shogunate, repairing pieces was largely limited to very important pieces, owned by very important people in Japan and China. Powerful shogun in Japan had few repair options domestically, so if the piece was important enough that it warranted repair, it was sent to China for staple-repair.
At some point in Japanese history, an important person said (in essence): “Hey, why don’t we look to our own rich history for a better and more beautiful way to repair these works….to make them even more valuable than they were originally.” I’m imagining there was some conversation between the pottery community and the lacquerware community (who was already using gold powder as a decorative element). The result was a gold repair of what was previously broken: adding value and instead of hiding the cracks…embracing imperfections...accentuating them… but with gold. This answer to the question of what to do with treasured-but-damaged work created works that didn’t hide the damage, but acknowledged the history, the damage and the repair…making the repaired result more beautiful and more valuable than it would have been originally.
Kintsugi is a reminder of the fragility of all things…a reminder that all is impermanant.
Remember that the price on this piece includes packing, shipping and insurance to all continental US addresses.
Those of you interested in making purchases from Alaska, Hawaii and international destinations, please contact me with Number and Title at dicklehmanclayart@gmail.com
While you are on the home page, do sign up for occasional email notifications of price reduction sales events.