Chip or Keshiki

[Jayaratna]

Dear all,

I've bought a couple of yunomi at an online store, and it is my first purchase from them: the cups were pictured in several images, but the vendor 'forgot' to show the front size, which has a very evident drawing.

As a bonus, one of the cups has a chip on its edge, I mean the glaze has a damage which is very small, but there it is indeed. The vendor is telling me that the drawings are a characteristic of this style of ceramic, and is sorry for having forgotten to show it, and adds that "[...] the chip on the glaze, we call it "Keshiki" ( a scenery or view) that is naturally made in the kiln on firing process and appreciate it as the character of the item. This is based on our Wabi-sabi spirit and culture."

I have asked him for a complete refund, and offered to send the cups back at his own expenses. Now he is offering me an off-set, but I feel I have been cheated, though I don't dislike the cups as they are.

Any recommendation or advices?

A

[Geekgirl]

Hard to say without actually seeing the "chip." Some glazes and clays do have little "explosions" or pock marks that can seem like a chip or flaw. So it's really impossible to answer without seeing it. As far as the drawing, yeah, you should have been able to see it.

Would you have bought this cup set if you had seen the drawing beforehand?

[Chip]

How can a "chip" ever be a bad thing?

He/she should have conveyed it to you. I am actually talking to Toru of A.N. He is very good at sharing an imperfection and has told me twice that since I cannot see the item, he has the added responsibility to examine and report "imperfections."

Sometimes to some collectors these explosions are a bonus which the collector will at times pay extra for.

Interestingly (and I cannot remember what it is called) a crack, break or chip can be repaired with visible gold or silver as the final layer of the repair. This can also be desirable to some collectors. I will have to look for this info later and post. Toru has offered to do this repair on this latest piece.

So, I have another question for this topic. Should the explosion be allowed to remain, or repaired in this traditional manner?

Regardless, I will likely purchase this piece at his retail price, but am doing it with foreknowledge. Disclosure is ultimately the most important aspect of online purchasing.

[iannon]

heres a page on keshiki if you havent seen it already
http://www.e-yakimono.net/guide/html/keshiki.html

[Jayaratna]

Would you have bought this cup set if you had seen the drawing beforehand?

I think I would have chosen a different cup, instead.

heres a page on keshiki if you havent seen it already
http://www.e-yakimono.net/guide/html/keshiki.html

This is really interesting, but I really think my chip has been made out of the kiln, by accidental hurt.

How can a "chip" ever be a bad thing? Cool

[...]

Interestingly (and I cannot remember what it is called) a crack, break or chip can be repaired with visible gold or silver as the final layer of the repair.

I like a lot Chips, not as much as chips!
Do you think this kind of repair could be done applying on the chip a mixture of epossidic plaster or glue with purpurine (kind of golden powder)? Any information on how to make it?

[chamekke]

If the chip is really a chip, and the design is not only unappealing BUT was not revealed up front ... then certainly, if I were in your place, I would be pressing for a return/refund.

Given the situation, and the fact that you are even willing to bear the cost of the return shipping, I am amazed that the seller is arguing for a different form of settlement. This is the kind of thing that can make or break a customer relationship.

And Chip (large-c) is completely right. A reputable seller always lets you know this information up front. Now I'm unwilling to impugn the motivation of someone I've never met, and of course people do sometimes omit information accidentally... but if that's what happened, the seller should be prepared to make appropriate restitution.

[Geekgirl]

Would you have bought this cup set if you had seen the drawing beforehand?

I think I would have chosen a different cup, instead.

If the item was not as described, (omitting an entire design would qualify, certainly,) and the seller won't work with you, you can start a claim through ebay/paypal. What a bummer.

[Chip]

I like a lot Chips, not as much as chips!
Do you think this kind of repair could be done applying on the chip a mixture of epossidic plaster or glue with purpurine (kind of golden powder)? Any information on how to make it?

The vendor is using time honored elements. This is what Toru from A.N. wrote to me along with photos of the actual piece and another piece he is working on.

This is a small fleabite, but it goes through the glaze as the glaze is thin.
I do not think this will creat a problem in the future,but I can also restore it
with urushi lacquer resin which reinforce the part and cover it with gold.

I can clean the fleabite and apply the part with urushi lacquer resin about three times,
apply gold and polish it. The following a picture of a lid which I have been restoring.
Urushi lacquer resin is very safe material and resistent. It will take about 3 weeks
to do it.

For your ref.

Kintsugi (Japanese: golden joinery) is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer resin sprinkled with powdered gold.[1][2] Kintsugi may have originated when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century. When it was returned repaired with ugly metal staples, it may have prompted Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetic means of repair. Collectors became so enamored of the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of kintsugi.[1] Kintsugi became closely associated with the ceramic utensils used for Japanese tea ceremony.[2]

So, he has given me the option of accepting the Hagi piece as is, or repaired.

I am thinking what to do, both have merits. Unrepaired has a tradition, repaired has another tradition. Both are sought by some collectors.
.

[Geekgirl]

I <3 Toru. this is awesome, that he will go to such efforts.

[Chip]

I <3 Toru. this is awesome, that he will go to such efforts.

He is da bombe! Very typical of Japanese vendors, honor before profit.

In my case, both defective items I first mentioned were also special orders.

[Jayaratna]

As for my vendor, I explained him that my cup has a chip with sharp edges. I see that the glaze surrounding it is really delicate: I guess maybe the glaze had crackles and, during handling or shipping it went off. Anyway the spot is so tiny that my shaking hands and my basic camera could not take a proper picture. The vendor says it has never happened to him because he carefully inspects every item, so he is offering to send me the cup I would have chosen if I were aware the ones I chose had drawings on the front side. Since this new one is a Hagiyaki, he made a point to explain me that it will not 'appear' perfect and it can even leak...