Kintsugi Method
Kintsugi Method gold repair on an antique French jardiniere
Kintsugi Repairs
The Kintsugi Method Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pokery with filler mixed with gold. This method highlights cracks and repairs. It is based on the idea that there is beauty in imperfection, and that all breaks and repairs are part of an object’s history. The Kintsugi Method can involve filling cracks or filling larger voids. Our conservators have used this method on several ceramic objects, and it always creates a show-stopper.
Thin cracks are typically filled with a gold powder mixed into a lacquer or filler material.
For larger voids, we used gold leaf over a plaster-based filler material. A gold size (glue) is used to apply the leaf.
Kintsugi Method conservation in action