Gintsugi: Silver Kintsugi, and Why the Silver Turns Black

Gintsugi is a repair in which a break or a chip is joined with lacquer and the seam is finished in silver powder.

Use gold and it is kintsugi; use silver and it is gintsugi. The only difference is the metal laid on at the end. Everything up to that point is the same.

The difference from kintsugi is the last step alone

Both are repaired with true lacquer. Join with lacquer, fill with lacquer, build the lacquer up in layers, then dust the metal powder on last. Every stage up to dusting the metal is shared.

Whatever the finish, the strength of the join does not change. What holds the piece together is the lacquer, not the metal on top of it. Choosing silver is not choosing a weaker repair.

Silver turns black. And it comes back.

This is where gintsugi is most often misunderstood.

Exposed to air and water, silver sulphides: it goes from white to grey and in time to black. The bright state a piece is in the day it comes back from repair does not last long.

That is not deterioration.

• Polishing brings the shine back　Blackened silver can be polished again. It returns to something close to its original white.
• The silver alone can be re-laid　If it will not come back, the silver can be dusted on again over the lacquer beneath, which is left as it is.
• Some people prefer it darkened　Silver that has settled to black is described as having quietened. As with a piece that grows, it is received as a piece that has taken time into it.

Choose it knowing it will change. That is what living with gintsugi means. Keinen bika applies to a repaired line as much as to the piece itself.

The range of finishes

Gold and silver are not the only ways to finish a join.

Platinum if you do not want it to change, coloured lacquer if you do not want the line to show at all. Silver sits between the two, and holds both brightness and quiet for longer than either.

What gintsugi suits

• White pieces　On white porcelain or kohiki, silver floats far less than gold.
• Blue and grey glazes　On cool-toned glazes such as celadon or ash glaze, the white of silver sits naturally.
• Pieces in daily use　It costs less than gold, which suits a repair meant to keep a piece in service rather than on a shelf.
• When you do not want the repair to lead　Kintsugi is a repair that shows the break. Gintsugi is quieter about it.

Living with a repaired piece

Every joined piece comes with the same conditions.

• No dishwasher, no microwave　Gold or silver on top, the layer underneath is lacquer. Heat and detergent damage it.
• Wash by hand, with something soft　Abrasive cleaners and metal scourers take the dusted metal off.
• Do not leave it soaking　Silver darkens faster in water. Dry it as soon as it is washed.

Handling the piece itself is covered in caring for Japanese ceramics, and for clay bodies in caring for stoneware.

Related reading

The idea of joining

• Kintsugi: How to Repair Pottery With Gold (and Why)
• Keinen Bika: Pottery That Gets Better With Age
• Pottery That 'Grows': How Ceramics Change With Use

Before you have anything repaired

• Crazing (Kannyu): Cracks in Glaze That Aren't Damage
• How to Care for Japanese Ceramics: A Practical Guide
• Japanese Stoneware Care: What Porcelain Never Needs

Pieces silver suits

• Kohiki Pottery: The White Slip Technique, Explained
• Celadon (Seiji): The Blue-Green Glaze of Iron and Fire
• Japanese Porcelain: Made from Stone, Not Clay

Pieces available at Nokaze

• Kintsugi Pottery | Japanese Ceramics Repaired with Gold