Anniversary Bowl - Kintsugi / Gintsugi application
A design based on The Golden Mean was applied using Kintsugi (gold) and Gintsugi (silver) to a serving bowl
I was commissioned by a best friend’s husband to ‘create’ something for his wife for their 20th wedding anniversary using the kintsugi method of mending broken pottery. This seemed appropriate to represent the China or Porcelain Anniversary. We first set out to identify an appropriate broken piece of pottery to mend; perhaps a piece of china or an item gifted at their wedding? There were no items, either chipped or broken, to be found. And I didn’t think it would be good form to break something in these circumstances. He went away in search of something that might be appropriate for me to enhance while I wracked my brain trying to think of an appropriate way to incorporate kintsugi. A small selection of ideal pieces were identified and together we narrowed it down to a beautiful royal blue porcelain Japanese serving bowl.
In the meantime, I came up with a solution to enhance the serving bowl. And I proposed the following… “It doesn’t seem appropriate to me to break the bowl, but I can embellish it using the traditional kintsugi/gintsugi method of highlighting using urushi lacquer and fine metal powder. I propose taking the design from the golden mean / golden section / divine proportion that exists everywhere in nature. Two lines of different elements, one gold (kintsugi) and one silver (gintsugi), enter from opposite sides of the vessel and trace a perfect spiral and meet in the centre.”
Golden Mean
Design mock-up on paper
Design decisions made it was time to crack on with the work (no pun intended). I initially marked the bowl with the Golden Mean lines. And then started with the silver embellishment, working halfway around the rim of the bowl, applying urushi lacquer and silver powder on top, before looping in towards the centre at the halfway point around the rim. Once the silver application was complete the bowl was placed in a humid box for the urushi lacquer to harden for a few days.
Serving bowl before embellishment
Marking the bowl with the Golden Mean lines
Applying the silver powder
Hardening the lacquer in a humid box
After the silver application set in place the gold was applied using the same method of drawing a perfectly curved line from the centre of the bowl, in urushi lacquer, with a fine brush and then applying gold powder before placing the bowl in a humid box again to harden the lacquer.
Halfway through applying the gold
Hardening the lacquer in a humid box again
Once the lacquer hardened, after a few days in the humid box, I gave the bowl a thorough clean and then sealed the whole piece with clear lacquer to keep the silver from tarnishing.
With the bowl complete I added two embellished shells, one gold and one silver, representing their son and daughter.
Though technically not a kintsugi ‘repair’ this is one of my favourite kintsugi projects because it incorporated both the skill of kintsugi craftsmanship and thoughtful design for my dear friends in celebration of love.
