MU – Geisha Kintsugi white Vase with 24K Gold Gilded Glass

Unique artwork — Ceramic, verre églomisé, kintsugi and maki-e with 24-karat gold

At the origin of Mu is a white ceramic vase whose tiered silhouette recalls Japanese pagodas and the mysterious underwater formations of Yonaguni. This resemblance to the legendary lost civilization of Mu gave the artwork its name.

Originally broken, the vase had a substantial section missing from its center. Rather than concealing this absence, the opening becomes a window into another era, revealing the portrait of a geisha photographed between 1895 and 1897.

Transferred onto glass gilded with 24-karat gold leaf using the traditional verre églomisé technique, the photograph takes on an almost otherworldly quality. Its reflective surface allows viewers to glimpse their own reflection alongside the young woman, bringing past and present together within a single image.

A fracture that occurred in the glass during the creative process inspired a delicate arrangement of wisteria blossoms, executed in maki-e, a Japanese technique combining natural lacquer and gold powder. The flowers weave through the geisha’s hair, recalling traditional kanzashi ornaments.

The ceramic fractures are highlighted through traditional kintsugi using natural urushi lacquer and 24-karat gold, while meticulous illusionistic restoration seamlessly blends the glass into the ceramic, concealing the boundaries between the two materials.

Mu explores a striking duality: some fractures are revealed through gold, while others disappear entirely. Bringing together ancestral Japanese techniques and contemporary processes, the artwork transforms a fragmented object into a new composition in which memory, illusion and material become inseparable.

Exhibitions and publication

Mu was exhibited in “Les énergies de la terre” at the Musée national Adrien Dubouché, France’s National Porcelain Museum in Limoges, and subsequently at Keramis – Centre de la Céramique in La Louvière, Belgium.

The artwork is also featured in the exhibition catalogue of “Les énergies de la terre.”