Nearly 70 pieces of traditional Japanese kintsugi art are to be auctioned in North Yorkshire to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Tennants Auctioneers will host the timed online auction from September 7 to 18, featuring ceramics donated by some of the UK’s leading restaurants and repaired using traditional techniques and gold.
The project is the work of South Yorkshire-based Nicole Campbell MBE, known as nmckintsugi, who practises the centuries-old Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics while highlighting rather than disguising their cracks and imperfections.
Among the restaurants which have donated ceramics are The Black Swan at Oldstead, Mýse, L’Enclume, Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, The Clove Club and Kol.
Nicole said: “The philosophy behind kintsugi is ‘That which was broken, once repaired, becomes stronger and more beautiful’ – a wonderful metaphor for life and in particular for those of us who are living with cancer.
“It is about honouring scars, rather than hiding them, and finding hope in renewal.”
The idea for the auction developed after Nicole offered to repair chipped plates belonging to Michelin-starred London restaurant Kol.
Nicole, a former speech therapist who later studied history of art and worked for Sotheby’s, was mentored in the traditional technique by kintsugi artist Yuko Gunji.
Rather than charging owners for restoration work, she asks them to make donations to either St Luke’s Hospice or, for this project, Cancer Research UK.
Kintsugi – meaning “golden joinery” – uses urushi lacquer, traditionally derived from tree sap, to repair cracks and breaks before they are highlighted with gold.
The technique is thought to have developed in Japan in the 15th century and is associated with the philosophy of wabi-sabi, in which imperfections and signs of age are considered part of an object’s beauty.
Traditional repairs can take between six weeks and three months to complete.
The Tennants auction will feature almost 70 lots and will raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
Bidding will take place online from September 7 until September 18.
