Dick Bonham Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi, I have been busy restoring two pony size Shishi dogs but I just finished this small restoration of a very early dragon pipecase. The dragon pipe case had some worm damage which was almost impossible to repair so I thought of fixing it without fixing it. I made an ant and a beetle and placed them in the worm hole. The ant is 5mm long. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amati Lorenzo Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 this is very impressive.. thank you for sharing Have you ever thought about filling empty spaces with some material painted with gold dust? Japanese people use this sistem to repair broken pottery. They use a mixture of raw urushi and rice flour. When everything is dried you can fix the shape using sand paper, then paint again a very thin layer and put gold dust on the fresh coating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amati Lorenzo Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 here is an example: http://www.milkhall.co.jp/mug/english/anti...gi/kintsugi.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunderlich Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi Dick, you have done a beautiful job there, would you mind to post a foto of the whole object? Is there still a kiseru for this pipecase? Hi Amati, first a warm welcome on the carving path. And a short word on the nature of "restoration". A restoration should preserve the state of an object or complete an object to asure its function. ( if possible all modifications should be reversible) Both with the makers intention in mind. Adding urushi would in this case alter the expression of such an object completely and is not reverible at all. This comment should not be an answer in leu of Dick, it just meant a general word regarding restoration. Cheers, Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Bonham Posted January 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi Amati and Karl, When I do restoration I try to make them invisible and reversible. When that is not possible as in this case I try to make the repair look as though it was made when the piece was in use. I have seen insects in carved worm holes on netsuke, inro and tonkotsu. You look at the bug not the damage. Thank you for your input. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi Dick, an elegant and very fine solution I think. That ant is amazing. I think also that your instinct in this case was spot on. Karl, the Japanese attitude towards restoration in a case like this would be quite different from the western museum approach. This is an object of everyday use that has suffered some damage through neglect This is merely part of it's history. In fact it can be a valued aspect of the overall aesthetic. To attempt to hide it would be to deny it's past. By using the flaw as Dick has done he has paid attention to both the story of the object and utilised the damage in a way that adds to it's appeal. By doing so so carefully he has also reminded us of it's value. The lacquer and gold approach that Amati refers to is another indication of this sensibility. Namaste, Ford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Bonham Posted January 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Thank you Ford, for the kind words. They mean a lot coming from a Master Craftsman like yourself. When restoring Japanese and Chinese art objects less is always more. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Nice solution to a tricky problem. I like it. I'm thinking about how an objects conservator at a Western museum might go about it. Isolating layer, modern fill of some sort. Carving and coloring. Rather, you've given it another layer of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Dick, That is a beautiful solution and your thought it may be reversed with ease. The originality has not been lost. Beautiful! Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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