Have you ever accidentally broken your favorite mug or plate, and reluctantly thrown it in the trash? As an alternative to immediately discarding shattered tableware, Japanese artisans actually celebrate their broken pottery and give them new life using a centuries-old technique called Kintsugi. Translated to “golden joinery,” the process involves repairing shattered ceramics with a special gold lacquer that acts as an adhesive to glue the fragments back together. Inspired by this traditional craft, Italian designer Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba created his own contemporary Kintsugi collection for Italian homeware brand, Seletti.
Launched during this year’s Maison et Objet design fair in Paris, Marcantonio’s collection features porcelain plates, bowls, and mugs made of various pieces of vintage tableware, glued together with precious 24-karat gold. However, each piece isn’t always put together with its originals. Instead, Marcantonio sometimes creates hybrid pieces by merging parts of different plates together—with different patterns and shapes—like a makeshift jigsaw. The resulting pieces are completely unique, each with their own charming imperfections, highlighted in dazzling gold.
Find more of Marcantonio’s designs on his website, and take a peak behind the scenes on Instagram.
Inspired by Japan’s centuries-old repair technique, Kintsugi, Italian designer Marcantonio created a contemporary tableware collection made of broken pieces of porcelain.
Marcantonio merged parts of different plates—with various patterns and shapes—held together with veins of 24-karat gold.
Each piece’s charming imperfections are highlighted in dazzling gold, giving them a new lease of life.
Marcantonio: Website | Facebook | Instagram
h/t: [designboom]
All images via Marcantonio.
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