Page 1 of 4

Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni Repair (Lacquer & Wire)

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:07 pm
by Bok
You are going to see in a sec why I decided to put up this weird title…

I acquired this little broken pot as my next Kintsugi project. I thought it might be of interest to share the repair steps I will be taking… but as I do not intend to keep it in the end, I publish it here in the swap section where it will be ending up eventually. So it is a work in progress sale.

@admin please let me know if that is ok!?

The pot in question is a lovely Qing, late Republican Junde shape in pear skin Zhuni. Furthermore it bares the prestigious seal of Changji 昌記, one of the more prestigious Workshops of the period. Which is another reason this pot is definitely worth repairing! Lucky the handle broke in a way that the seal under it is still visible :)

What I am going to do is to first create a metal wire skeleton attached to the body. Then dress it up slowly with Kintsugi and remodel a handle. Gold coating would be a waste in this case, as it will rub off too easily. So I intend to do a nice handle wrapping which will cover the whole repaired handle.

That’s the plan… to be continued!

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:16 pm
by pantry
The pot looks so lovely, and in such great condition otherwise!

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:32 pm
by Bok
pantry wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:16 pm
The pot looks so lovely, and in such great condition otherwise!
Yes it is... no wonder that workshop is sought after! The lid skirt inside is pretty chipped up but otherwise it's in good shape.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:42 pm
by pedant
awesome, good luck with the project! i look forward to reading the updates.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:00 pm
by Pants404
I feel that having the repairs documented like this can add much more value than just offering a "repaired pot".
I too look forward to seeing this progress.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:06 pm
by Bok
Thanks guys, I'll get cracking! :mrgreen:

Actually started already last night, drilling holes in the remainder of the handles to attach the basic wire bone. Not for the faint of heart to take a dentists drill to a 100+y old Zhuni teapot... but all went well and it's ready for the next step, which will come with a picture.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:22 pm
by pantry
Bok wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:32 pm
pantry wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:16 pm
The pot looks so lovely, and in such great condition otherwise!
Yes it is... no wonder that workshop is sought after! The lid skirt inside is pretty chipped up but otherwise it's in good shape.
I immediately searched for Changji pots after I saw your post! Can't wait to see your repair progress. A bit off topic, where can one educate oneself about reputable workshops pots in the Qing/Early-ROC period?

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:56 pm
by Bok
pantry wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:22 pm
Bok wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:32 pm
pantry wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:16 pm
The pot looks so lovely, and in such great condition otherwise!
Yes it is... no wonder that workshop is sought after! The lid skirt inside is pretty chipped up but otherwise it's in good shape.
I immediately searched for Changji pots after I saw your post! Can't wait to see your repair progress. A bit off topic, where can one educate oneself about reputable workshops pots in the Qing/Early-ROC period?
Unless you can read Chinese – nowhere... sadly all the book written on the subjects are in Chinese. And by talking to collectors with more experience, that is how learned most of what I know. Teapot collectors get together and met up frequently in Asia, chitchat, have tea and compare their finds.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 11:02 pm
by pantry
Bok wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:56 pm
Unless you can read Chinese – nowhere... sadly all the book written on the subjects are in Chinese. And by talking to collectors with more experience, that is how learned most of what I know. Teapot collectors get together and met up frequently in Asia, chitchat, have tea and compare their finds.
I can (sort of) read some, and I know how to use Google Translate! :lol: Eyeing some books on the subject, but not sure how I can get them since I'm not likely traveling this year. Any recommendations? Ebooks?

Edit: realize I digressed too much on this thread. I'll stop now and patiently wait for the repair update photos :)

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:22 am
by Chadrinkincat
I look forward to seeing the results.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:09 am
by Balthazar
Ditto, I'm not a prospective buyer but am definitely interested in following the repair process.

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:40 am
by .m.
It's a nice pot. But how are you going to attach the wire structure to the body so that it doesn't fall off one day? There is not much left of the top part of the handle. Are you gonna drill into the pot? Or make a ring around the body? 🤔

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:52 am
by Bok
As I hinted before, I did indeed drill holes to attach the wire, further more some adhesive so it stays in place until the hardened Kintsugi holds it all together.

Below a picture of the wire with wrapped around thinner wire to add volume and give the Kintsugi something to attach to. After that a first layer of Urushi lacquer is applied over the whole thing as a foundation for the next step...

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:25 pm
by jessepat84
Good luck with this. I think it’ll be amazing when done :)

Re: Future Sale project: Qing/ROC Pearskin Zhuni

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:47 pm
by faj
Very interesting idea for a topic, great fun to see see the repair progressing. It does take skill to nail down the shape of the handle at that stage, there is not much leeway to correct afterwards. Good work!