u/SincerelySpicy

This one’s another piece from the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos. 

Edo Period Yatsushiro Dish

• Body: Edo period, 18th century; Kumamoto, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. 
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1904.329/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye37dc155d38d8d488ab09a999c1c28ee7c

Not much to say about this one. I just like it a lot and it’s possible to go see this in person right now. :)

This piece is from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and is currently on view in Gallery 224 as part of the Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics exhibition running through August 8, 2027. This specific piece may be rotated out during the span of the exhibition but other kintsugi repaired pieces will be on display as well.

Edo Period Aka-Raku Chawan

• Body: Edo period, 18th century; Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. Multiple repairs made at different times. 
• https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/63180

Male lone star?

It was found indoors in a northern NJ city. We haven't been out of the house much in the past couple weeks and we haven't been to any parks or the like over the same period. It was found in the bathroom where a few plants that I usually keep on the third floor balcony were draining off after watering in the tub. Squirrels and birds frequent the balcony fairly regularly.

Kintsugi repairs, are not always permanent in themselves, and over time and extended use, repaired parts will sometimes crack, open up or chip, and of course further damage may occur elsewhere on the piece. Re-repairing these areas and further repairs, however, don’t all have to be done in the same style.

This is a lovely kyō-raku chawan accented with numerous repairs done at several periods in its lifespan. A slew of red and black repairs are interspersed among the more prominent golden fissures, with some of them overlapping each other. Despite the variety, the repairs all beautifully compliment the ruddy pitted glaze. 

This piece is another one from the Freer Gallery of Art collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC. 

Be sure to check out the first link below and zoom even further into the details in the photos there.

Kyō-Raku Chawan, attributed to Tamamizu Ichigen

• Body: Edo period, 17th century; Kyoto, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. Multiple repairs made at different times. 
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1900.40/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye3ce23dd53ad5d467da530eedc1c639736

^(It's a holiday here tomorrow, and I'm likely going to be out for most of the day, so posting this a day early.)

Kintsugi repairs don’t always have to be just reassembly and repair—the technique can be used to create something outright new. One way to do this is with yobitsugi. 

Yobitsugi is the kintsugi technique of replacing missing fragments with with pieces of other ceramics, or even the assembly of completely disparate fragments to create an outright new piece. 

This chawan, from the collection of the Arakawa Toyozō Museum in Gifu, Japan, was originally owned by Arakawa Toyozō, the renowned Mino-yaki ceramicist and living national treasure who revived the long lost pottery traditions of the Mino region. 

The piece was assembled from nine different fragments of oribe-ware excavated from the Motoyashiki ancient kiln site in Mino, and despite having been assembled from so many different fragments with different patterns, it maintains a sense of cohesion and unity, not only in its aesthetics but also in its overall form. 

Oribe Yobitsugi Chawan

• Body fragments: Momoyama period, 17th century; Mino, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Showa period, early 20th century. 
• Collection of Arakawa Toyozō Museum

Another one using silver powder which has patinated black over time. 

This one is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Buncheong Flask

• Body: Joseon dynasty, 15th century, Korea
• Kintsugi: Date unknown
• https://www.artic.edu/artworks/21891/flask-with-fish

A little teapot. I normally prefer to work with maru-fun, but in this case, given the location of the breakage, durability didn't seem like it would be much of an issue, so the customer and I decided to go with keshi-fun on the outside and straight black urushi on the inside to help reduce the overall cost. The upper break on the handle is reinforced with a couple steel pins.

One more just about finished, making a bit more leeway into my backlog.

Pelikan M1000 raden customization in a familiar motif for me, but with a further embellishment. This one uses nacre from Pinctada maxima along with crushed synthetic opal between the stripes, but the strips have been backed in a gradient of coarse silver powder.

As usual with the Pelikans I work on, I've refinished the cap finial to match, this one with crush opal and hira-maki-e for the logo.

Bill Bodei, the late Neo lover Deborah Bodei’s husband, is hosting the 2nd Annual Neo event in Northeast US!

Come with your Neos for judging, meet the experts, listen to a couple lectures, and find some new babies to bring home!

Satomi Kasahara from Seed Engei, Peter Lin from Diamond orchids, Duane McDowell representing Barampungranwon, as well as other vendors and experts will be there exhibiting and selling.

It will be a great opportunity to learn more about Neos!

Details so far:

• Saturday, June 6, Setup 10am, Event 11am.
• Secaucus Hudson #72 Masonic Lodge - 1422 Paterson Plank Rd, Secaucus, NJ
• Free Entry

Schedule, vendor list, and talk topics to follow.

Please share this event!

Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/26205654409112979/

Picked this one up the other day on Pen Swap and just finished restoring it to its full glory.

Removed a bit of oxidation on the section, repaired the feed, polished up the celluloid a bit, and replaced the sac with a silicone one (juuust in case).

Such a beautiful little pen in such a beautiful material. Last pic includes my other two in the same(ish) material.

1930s Omas Extra Lady Size in Arco Bronze Celluloid.

I've been finally getting around to completing the sterling silver drawer of my pen chest, and as I was polishing some of them up to put away in their new anti-tarnish lined drawer, this one caught my eye again.

There's something about 1970s pen design that I adore, and while this one goes in a different direction from my usual 70s favorites, I can't help feel that it perhaps epitomizes the fashion of the era the best.

1970s, Platinum PSJ-16000 in Sterling Silver and Urushi.

This was released earlier in 2025 by Daimaru Fujii Central as an exclusive Pilot Decimo, and when I had read the descriptions of the theme, I couldn't help, in my ultimately immature mind, giggle about the what the color was inspired by (keep in mind as a biology lover, I'm not a prude, at all, with biological reproduction), but I ended up dismissing it as, ah it's all just nature.

The other day though, I managed to have an opportunity to rectify my 2025 oversight in purchasing one of these when it was first released, and when the package arrived, I was giggling all anew at the english description on the back of the box. :p

All said and done though, the color is beautiful, and nature is beautiful.

Pilot Capless Decimo, 2025 Daimaru Fujii Central Exclusive, Kuki 群来

I'd been wanting one of these ever since I'd first found out about them a good 3 years after the LE was released and long sold out, but I really couldn't justify the ever increasing price they were being listed at—3, 4 and lately even nearly 5 times the original MSRP.

I'd all but given up on finding one for a decent price when a couple weeks ago I spotted this one listed at 40000 yen, sporting my favored UEF nib to boot. I jumped on it immediately, with the overall cost after shipping, duties and exchange rate coming out to not a whole lot more than what I would have paid had I gotten it when released back in 2018.

Color me happy. :)

Platinum #3776 Century, Limited Edition Fuji Shunkei Series, Kumpoo

Turbo marmoratus nacre stripes with Kyocera synthetic opal chips between the stripes. Hira-makie over crush opal chips on the finial.