Vintage Studio Pottery Vase with Kintsugi Style Repair, Signed

Someone broke this vase and then made the break the best part of it. The old fracture has been filled with a gold-toned seam that wanders across the base and climbs one side, a gesture borrowed from kintsugi, the Japanese practice of repairing rather than hiding. Low, rounded, and small enough to hold in one hand.

[d]Dimensions | 5.5 in. diameter x 3.5 in. H

[d]Surface | Unglazed clay body, smooth and lightly burnished from throwing, with a gold-toned fill along the fracture line

[d]Primary Material | Dark-bodied clay, assessed as stoneware

[d]Period | Vintage

[d]Origin | Unknown

[d]Style or Movement | Studio pottery

[d]Also Known As | closed form vessel

[d]Maker, Mark, or Attribution | Unattributed

[d]Marks | Impressed to the base: a monogram within an irregular roundel, reading as a single angular letter, possibly M

[d]Construction or Technique | Wheel-thrown, throwing rings visible across the body, turned foot

[condition]

This vase was broken and has been repaired. A single fracture line runs across the underside of the base and continues up one side of the body, and it has been filled and finished with a gold-toned material in the manner of kintsugi. The repair is a decorative and philosophical treatment, not a conservation-grade one, and it is meant to be seen rather than concealed. The fill sits proud of the surface along its length and has a granular, textured finish. The two halves are joined and stable in hand.

The clay body is unglazed and shows the surface you would expect from a thrown and unglazed piece: fine throwing rings, a few small pale scuffs and mineral flecks, and light dust in the recesses of the foot. None of these read as damage. The mouth is clean with no chips. The maker's monogram is crisp and fully legible as an impression, though I cannot attribute it.

I have not tested this vase for water. A repaired fracture that passes through the base should be treated as decorative only. Use it dry, with dried stems or as a sculptural object, unless you line it.

Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.