Pottery is amazingly strong, yet vulnerable to breakage.

Japanese artists invented a distinctive way of mending ceramics. They drew on the ancient tradition of using the plant resin lacquer as a glue to rejoin broken ceramics but transformed the appearance of the repair by sprinkling the lacquer with powdered gold, thus creating a new component for appreciation.

Gold lacquer repairs (Jap. Kintsugi) became closely associated with ceramic utensils used in the way of tea (Chado).

In their exhibition BachmannEckenstein present a variety of ceramics from Japan, Korea, and China mended and enhanced by this characteristic Japanese technique.

Reference: On mended ceramics, see: Flickwerk. The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics, Exhibition Catalogue, Cornell University, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art and Museum für Lackkunst, 2008

BachmannEckenstein JapaneseArt, Hardstrasse 45 | 4020 Basel | Switzerland - Phone +41 61 373 06 24 | Fax +41 61 373 06 26 - l@BachmannEckenstein.com | mailing list

Unidentified Artist, Side Dish, Japan, Edo Period - 17th century. Glazed ceramic (Oribe). H: 5.9 cm W: 14.5 cm D: 12.3 cm. Inv.no.: 1895

Unidentified Artist, Dish, Japan, Edo Period - 17th century. Glazed ceramic (Karatsu). H: 3.8 cm D: 13.5 cm. Inv.no.: 1673

Unidentified Artist, Teabowl, Japan, Edo Period - 18th century. Glazed ceramic (Korea). H: 4.1 cm D: 11.2 cm. Inv.no.: 2007

Unidentified Artist, Teabowl, Japan, Edo Period - 18th century. Glazed ceramic (Shino). Inv.no.: 2024

Unidentified Artist, Teabowl, Japan, Edo Period - 17th century. Glazed ceramic (Korea). H: 7.3 cm D: 18.8 cm. Inv.no.: 2005