Description
A post-functional ceramic object — broken, healed, and triumphantly transformed.
This pitcher no longer pours; it proclaims. Its once-shattered wall is sutured with lacquer-gold veins, while a bold, oversized grip — fire-gilt brass partially cloaked in raw terracotta slip — bends the silhouette into a new anatomy of survival. What began as an accident ends as an act of self-determination: the cracks are not hidden but celebrated.
In an age that exalts perfection, this object honors imperfection as narrative. It seeks no pity; it demands awe.
Curatorial Note
Kintsugi principles meet a contemporary intervention here. Traditional gold joinery shows reverence for loss, yet the amplified gleam of the handle pushes beyond quiet devotion toward radical optimism. It is an artifact of resilience, a material memoir of falling apart and returning louder, brighter. The silhouette nods to mid-century tableware, but the grafted handle rewrites the genre — an unexpected prosthesis that turns a utensil into a manifesto.
Not nostalgic. Not ironic. Precise, provocative, unashamedly alive.
Function Surpassed, Meaning Amplified
This is no simple repair; it is a deliberate retelling. The object refuses its old role. It occupies a liminal space — part vessel, part sculpture, wholly testimony. It reminds us that survival is seldom seamless, and that beauty often emerges along the sutures.
🌿 Provenance
Found: Italy, in a restaurant where it shattered
Original production: likely late-20th-century porcelain pitcher (unmarked)
Reconstruction: 2025, kintsugi lacquer with 24 k gold powder & hand-built brass handle coated in terracotta slip
Material & Finish
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Cast porcelain body, white-glazed
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Fracture lines filled with urushi lacquer + gold powder
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Custom brass handle, fire-gilt and partly terracotta-slipped
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Interior food-safe; exterior intentionally heterogeneous
Dimensions*
Height ≈ 15 cm
Width (spout ➜ outer rim of handle) ≈ 18 cm
Depth ≈ 7 cm
Weight ≈ 0.8 kg
*Measurements are approximate; asymmetry is integral to the piece.
Shipping Information
Ships from Italy
Double-boxed, using reused packing materials
Standard EU via Poste Italiane (track & trace)
Worldwide express (DHL/UPS) on request
Indicative cost from €12
Styling Tip
Store your ledger inside this piece so you always know where it is.
Tags
#KintsugiRedux #ResilientObject #GildedFracture #CeramicReborn #SurvivalAesthetics #PitcherAsManifesto