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Tea in Europe. From Exotica to
Tradition
On 9 September 2008 the exhibition “Tea in Europe. From Exotica to Tradition”
from the collection of the State Hermitage opened in the Winter Palace.
The exhibition is devoted to tea that was brought to Europe from China
in the 16th century and also to the history of tea etiquette and the variety
of this tradition that spread to many countries.
The display presents some 200 exhibits made of wood, silver, stoneware,
pottery and porcelain. They include a variety of tea-caddies, teapots,
teacups, kettles on trivets or urns, sugar-bowls, cream and milk jugs,
teaspoons and other tea accessories. Apart from that, visitors can see
engravings, tablecloths, napkins, tapestries, tea-tables and sculpture
illustrating the tea traditions of various countries.
The exhibition will also include showings of an animated film provided
by the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK) that presents an ironic
look at the history of tea and tea etiquette in England.
The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue (State Hermitage
Publishing House). The curator of the exhibition is Liudmila Shatilova,
senior researcher in the Hermitage’s Department of Western European Applied
Art.
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Liudmila Shatilova, the curator of the exhibition and Mikhail Piotrovsky,
the director of the State Hermitage, at the opening ceremony
At the exhibition
The exhibition
catalogue
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