There is something beautiful about how some old things are improved with repair. In Asia, broken large pots and fine china were usually mended by drilling holes near the edge of the broken pieces and then binding the shards together with flattened brass wire. Here are some ceramic pots in China that were mended this way. The small one I saw on the island near Shanghai, and the large one near a village in Zhuji (near Nimbo, also near Shanghai) used for washing clothes. They are very waterproof, and seem to work as good as new. But to my eye, the repair strands add a wonderful texture.