Freer and Tea: 100 Years of "The Book of Tea"

As part of the Freer Gallery's celebration of the 100th anniversary of founder Charles Lang Freer's donation of his collection to the nation in 1906, this exhibition explores the connections between Freer and the Japanese art historian and curator Okakura Kakuzo, who in 1906 published The Book of Tea, the first study in English to explain the philosophical and aesthetic grounding for the Japanese tea ceremony. The exhibition also presents highlights of the 350 Japanese, Korean, and Chinese tea ceremony ceramics that Freer had acquired by 1906. Featured are Freer's first tea utensil, a Japanese water jar, as well as Korean and Chinese tea bowls.