Kintsugi is the art of conspicuously repairing broken pottery with a resin and then coating the repair with a powdered gold lacquer. The repaired item is then considered more artistic than the original.
 
In the fifteenth century, so the story goes, a prized tea bowl belonging to a nobleman was broken. It was sent to China to be repaired. On its return to Japan, the owner was shocked to see the tea bowl repaired with two big metal staples. It is thought this brash way of dealing with repairs made Japanese restorers rethink the aesthetics of their craft and so began the art of kintsugi, which means 'golden joinery'.
 
For centuries, kintsugi craftspeople have glued together broken ceramics using natural tree resins. After it has hardened the resin is smoothed down, and then painted over using a lacquer mixed with gold dust. The repair then becomes a visible and unique part of the piece. For fine porcelain, it adds a wild and edgy look, and for rough ceramics, a little bit of grandeur.
 
Kintsugi is making a come back, with many modern artists and craftspeople using similar techniques - although not so many using natural tree resin unfortunately.
 
Humade, a company set up by a Dutch designer, have produced and sell a simple kintsugi kit comprising of gold dust and an adhesive. The kit is available from their website.