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2015 Words5 Pages

In the words of writer Richard Whately, “It is the neglect of timely repair that makes rebuilding necessary”. However, to the owners of broken ceramics living in 19th century Japan, the process of timely repair is no longer an option. Nevertheless, the restoration process of kintsugi is an alternative to broken ceramics. We cannot know for certain whether the owners of our piece were of means or skilled artisans themselves, but we do know the same process was used to restore the ceramic this paper will try to focus on. The piece shown in figure 1, being a doubtless example, has a larger story to tell than the fact that it was mended. The special characteristics that make it stand out from the hoard of other ceramics would be the radical changes in Japanese society in the 19th century when this piece was restored, the poetic origins of the decorations, and how the entire process of kintsugi reflect the mentality of the artisans. Of course, if we consider the entire wide pool of ceramics there is bound to be a piece similar to this, however, the fact that this piece is well intact and how well it represents 19th century Japan is worth our attention.

Basic rundown
To quench the thirst of any impatient readers, and to give a larger picture of the object in question, a basic rundown is in order. The ceramic sadly, does not have a specific date of manufacture as it was only briefly displayed at Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art during the display of Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics and likely returned to the owners afterwards, as with the other displays. However, through the process of deduction, the date can be roughly estimated. Other than that, the container uses material similar used by many artists during 19th ...

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... autographed. The poet’s career and restoration of the ware point that it was likely made during the mid-19th century, and is even potentialy molded by the poet herself. Other than that, the ware also hints us of the culture, the mindset, and the religion of the back grounding environment. After further research we are able to find more about the time in which it was restored, the Meiji restoration was a defining moment in Japan’s history telling us how the deteriorating system of feudalistic Japan broke only to be restored with more to show. The once broken yet repaired to further glory of Meiji ruled Japan not only reflects the nature of the ceramic container the paper focused on, it also defined the history of Asia in the 20th century. From the view of a historical enthusiast, 19th century Japan can be represented in the form of one beautiful piece of porcelain.

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