Blue vase with mop

This blue porcelain vase comes from the German studio KTU Unterstab and is an iconic piece from the 60s.

For this accidentally broken piece, I decided to use a particularly difficult and delicate technique in addition to 24-carat gold kintsugi: burgautage.

The name comes from burgau, the common name for many mother-of-pearl-producing shellfish. This is the mystery ingredient of this restoration: thin strips of mother-of-pearl, inlaid in natural black lacquer.

This traditional Japanese technique, known as Raden, demands meticulous, patient work: it requires a great deal of sanding and polishing, to achieve a perfectly smooth finish to the touch and a mirror-polished shine. With an added difficulty in the case of this piece: the surface is curved rather than flat, making inlaying all the more complex.

The result? A 28 cm-high piece that’s absolutely unique. The alliance of an ancestral technique and a vase with a contemporary, elegant and original look.

Extra info:

The mother-of-pearl used here is particularly precious: it comes from a very specific shellfish, the Haliotis, famous for its many reflections ranging from blue to fuchsia pink.