Broken Pottery Gold Repair (japanese Kintsugi)

Ceramic repair with gold is possible with the Japanese Kintsugi technique and is offered by us in Zurich (Switzerland). It is also known as Kintsugi repair with gold.

This Japanese repair method can be used to repair cracks, small and large defects and broken pieces, for example on ceramic plates, ceramic bowls or ceramic cups, but also on porcelain items.

Get a quote for ceramic repair with gold now


 

 
Ceramic repair with gold, also known as kintsugi repair with gold, here on a vase.
Here, ceramic repair with gold was carried out using the Kintsugi technique on a flaw on the upper edge of a vase
 
The traditional kintsugi repair of ceramics with gold is carried out with the help of urushi lacquer, which is used to produce adhesive masses for gluing fragments together or filling masses for filling imperfections. Finally, urushi lacquer is applied over the restored areas, which is then sprinkled with real gold powder. When urushi lacquer is used, it is also referred to as original kintsugi.
 
 

How does ceramic repair with gold work?

We repair ceramics with gold using the Kintsugi technique, which is an ancient Japanese repair method for ceramics and porcelain. The term Kintsugi (Japanese 金継ぎ) is made up of “Kin” = gold and “tsugi” = to join, which means ‘gold connection’. This is because the repaired areas are refined with gold at the end. Instead of gold, other metals such as silver or brass can also be used to repair ceramics.

Another term for kintsugi is ‘kintsukuroi’ (Japanese: 金繕い), which means ‘gold repair’.

One of the most important aids in the Japanese kintsugi technique is urushi lacquer, which is produced from the sap of the lacquer tree. This lacquer is also known as Rhus verniciflua or Rhus vernicifera. In kintsugi repair, urushi lacquer (Chinese lacquer, Rhus lacquer or Japanese lacquer) is used for mixing adhesives and compounds, but also for the final lacquering of the repaired areas.

After a short waiting period, real gold powder is sprinkled onto the final layer of lacquer in the case of ceramic repairs with gold, which adheres to the lacquer.

 
 

Examples with Kintsugi

Below you will find a few examples where we have repaired ceramics with gold using the Japanese Kintsugi technique:

Ceramic repair gold, also called kintsugi repair with gold, here on a vase.
Ceramic repair with gold, previous remodelling of a defect
 
 
Remodelling a defect and repairing ceramic with gold using the Kintsugi repair method.
Ceramic repair with gold, previous remodelling of a defect
 
 
Kintsugi repair with gold and remodelling of a defect.
Kintsugi repair with gold, previous remodelling of a defect
 
 
Crack repair with gold using the Kintsugi technique.
Crack repair with gold using the kintsugi technique
 
 
 

Ceramic repair food-safe

Our ceramic repairs with gold are food-safe. This applies both to the urushi lacquer that we use and to the compounds and adhesives that we produce by mixing urushi with clay powder or wheat flour. The real gold used for the final finish is also food-safe.

 
 

Cost estimate

We will be happy to provide you with a cost estimate for ceramic repair with gold using the Kintsugi method. This quotation is non-binding for you.

Please send us a photo/photos of the piece to be repaired using the following contact form so that we can process your enquiry. Fields marked with * must be completed. Otherwise it is not possible to send the form (please note our privacy policy):

    1. Photo:

    2. Photo (if exists):

    3. Photo (if exists):

     

    Alternatively, you can also send us a photo/photos of the item to be repaired to the following e-mail address, especially if the respective photo has a file format that cannot be sent via the above contact form:

    robert.zueblin@robertzueblin.com

    (please note our privacy policy)