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An extraordinary private museum of historic teawares 🇬🇧

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James Bond, but make it tea.

Long before the martinis became part of the character’s image, Sean Connery was photographed here with a simple teacup.

Which do you think suits Bond better: tea or a martini?

#ChitraCollection #SeanConnery #JamesBond #TeaAndPopCulture #BritishCulture #teahistory by @tea.museum

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7 hours ago

Look closer at the surface of this eighteenth-century teapot 🫖

Made in Staffordshire around 1765, this lead-glazed earthenware teapot is associated with the designer and mould-maker William Greatbatch.

Its moulded panels depict Chinese figures derived from George Edwards and Matthias Darly’s New Book of Chinese Designs, published in London in 1754, reflecting the popularity of Chinese-inspired decoration in eighteenth-century Britain.

The distinctive mottled surface was created by applying coloured metallic-oxide glazes to the creamware before firing beneath a clear glaze. As the colours flowed together in the kiln, they produced the rich tortoiseshell effect seen across the teapot.

William Greatbatch, designer
Staffordshire, c.1765
Lead-glazed earthenware
Chitra Collection, no. 1104

#ChitraCollection #WilliamGreatbatch #StaffordshirePottery #Ceramics #TeaHistory #DecorativeArts by @tea.museum

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2 days ago

Look closely at the tea table.

Among the porcelain, silver and candlelight are the containers used to store one of the most valuable commodities on the eighteenth-century table: tea.

As tea drinking became increasingly fashionable in Britain, specially made canisters , later known as caddies, were used to store different varieties of tea. Because tea was expensive, these were often kept inside lockable tea chests.

The Chitra Collection holds similar examples, including a sharkskin tea chest containing two silver tea caddies and a larger central container, possibly used for blending tea or storing sugar. Decorated with intricate rococo chasing, they show how even the storage of tea became an expression of craftsmanship, fashion and status.

Swipe to see related examples from the Chitra Collection.

Image: Tea Service on a Tray, artist unknown. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

#ChitraCollection #TeaHistory #TeaCaddy #DecorativeArts #EighteenthCentury #Silver by @tea.museum

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5 days ago

Join us at the Chitra Collection for Tea, Memory & Objects, a creative writing and poetry workshop exploring how objects can hold memory, loss and personal meaning.

Led by writer and poet Parvinder Marwaha, the session will use a selection of historic and contemporary teawares from the collection as starting points for reflection and writing.

The afternoon will include object handling, tea tasting and guided creative exercises in an intimate small-group setting.

Places are limited to 10 participants and advance booking is required.

Book via the link in our bio.

#ChitraCollection #CreativeWriting #PoetryWorkshop #ObjectsAndMemory #MuseumEvents #TeaCulture by @tea.museum

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7 days ago

🗓️ On this day in 1935, Danish silversmith Georg Jensen died.

This piece in the Chitra Collection offers a closer look at the design language that made Jensen’s work so distinctive. Its carefully worked silver, balanced proportions and restrained decoration reflect the combination of craftsmanship and organic form that became closely associated with the Georg Jensen workshop.

Rather than treating silver simply as a precious material, Jensen approached it as a surface for sculptural design, creating objects that were both functional and highly considered.

Today, his work remains one of the defining expressions of early twentieth-century Scandinavian design.

#GeorgJensen #ChitraCollection #Silver #DecorativeArts #DesignHistory #ScandinavianDesign by @tea.museum

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10 days ago

A trip to the opera, a valuable pair of glasses, and a very quick thief.

This nineteenth-century cabinet cup and saucer were made by the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin, or KPM, and are decorated with scenes telling the unfortunate story of Mrs. Schluter and Mrs. Minna Krause.

Before attending the opera, Mrs. Krause had managed to secure the only pair of opera glasses available in their small town. On arriving at the theatre, a seemingly helpful gentleman offered to hold them while she stepped down from her carriage.

By the time she turned to thank him, both the man and the opera glasses had disappeared.

The thief is shown making his escape on the saucer, while the cup depicts the story unfolding in intricate hand-painted detail. The full tale is even transcribed on the reverse of the saucer.

A small porcelain object, but an entire narrative hidden across its surface.

#ChitraCollection #KPM #Porcelain #DecorativeArts #Ceramics #MuseumCollection #DesignHistory by @tea.museum

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13 days ago

On this day in 1660, Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that he had sent for “a cup of tee”, one of the earliest known references to tea in Britain. 🍵

More than a century later, this Yixing teapot brought the craft of Chinese tea-making into a European setting.

Made in China from unglazed zisha, or ‘purple sand’ clay, the teapot’s simple form reflects the growing European demand for Yixing wares in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Its silver mounts were added in England around 1790, while the pineapple finial evokes the Georgian fascination with exotic fruits and the symbolism of hospitality.

A small object, but one that reflects the movement of tea, craftsmanship and cultural exchange between China and Europe.

#ChitraCollection #TeaHistory #Yixing #ChineseCeramics #SamuelPepys #TeaCulture #HistoricTeawares by @tea.museum

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17 days ago

A wonderful afternoon welcoming guests to the Chitra Collection for a special Chinese gongfu tea ceremony with Amitabha Garden.

Hosted by Yiqing, the experience brought together two connected sides of tea culture: a gongfu tea tasting, followed by a guided tour of the collection exploring historic teawares and the many traditions, materials and stories that surround tea.

It was a pleasure to see the collection being experienced not only as objects in display cases, but as part of a living tea culture.

Thank you to Amitabha Garden and everyone who joined us for such a lovely event. by @tea.museum

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18 days ago

📚 A tea caddy disguised as a stack of books…

Designed as a novelty object for the 19th-century home, this unusual tea caddy is made from oak with pale wood and walnut veneers cleverly arranged to imitate book spines.

Look closely and you’ll find titles including Crums of Comfort and Ovid’s The Art of Love, Volumes I and II. The sliding top “book”, titled The Tea Table, A Poem, even conceals the caddy’s keyhole.

Book-shaped tea caddies first appeared in Britain towards the end of the 18th century, but one detail helps us date this example much later: The Ladies’ Delight, written across the back, references Émile Zola’s novel published in 1883.

A playful meeting of literature, craftsmanship and tea culture. ☕📖

#ChitraCollection #TeaCaddy #TeaHistory #DecorativeArts #MuseumCollection #19thCentury #AntiqueFurniture #HistoryOfTea #MuseumObjects #ObjectOfTheDay by @tea.museum

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21 days ago

One day only. Two intimate sessions. Just eight guests per session.

On Tuesday 22 September, step inside Chitra Collection - London’s private museum of historic teawares - for a two-hour cultural experience combining Chinese gongfu tea with museum history.

Hosted by Yiqing, your ticket includes:

* a 90-minute gongfu tea ceremony
* three premium Chinese teas
* two traditional Chinese pastries
* a 30-minute curator-led tour through a collection of almost 2,000 historic teawares

11:30am-1:30pm or 2:30pm-4:30pm
Chitra Collection, Farringdon

No previous tea knowledge is needed. Advance booking is required.

Reserve your place through the link in our bio.

#londonevents #thingstodoinlondon #londonmuseums #chineseteaceremony #chitracollection taken in London, United Kingdom by @tea.museum

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24 days ago

On this day in 1837, Tiffany & Co.’s story began in New York. 💎

What started as a small stationery and fancy goods store would develop into one of America’s most celebrated luxury houses, renowned for its jewellery and extraordinary silverwork.

Made in 1880, this silver hot water urn in the Chitra Collection dates from a period when Tiffany’s reputation for silver was gaining international recognition. Its design brings together Rococo and classical influences, with elegant fluting, floral decoration and an unusual finial formed as two fish with intertwined tails.

Under the creative direction of Edward C. Moore, Tiffany’s silver workshops looked far beyond America for inspiration, drawing on everything from European decorative arts to Japanese metalwork.

A fitting object to mark nearly two centuries of Tiffany craftsmanship. ✨

Tiffany & Co., silver hot water urn, 1880.

#TiffanyAndCo #TiffanySilver #Silverware #DecorativeArts #AmericanSilver #TeaHistory by @tea.museum

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24 days ago

🫖 The Brown Betty: over 300 years of design.

First developed in Staffordshire in the late seventeenth century, Brown Betty teapots were inspired by Chinese Yixing wares and made using the region’s distinctive red clay. By 1926, around half a million were being produced every week.

This contemporary example was re-engineered by British ceramicist Ian McIntyre, reviving historic features such as a locking lid and non-drip spout while adapting the design for modern tea drinking.

#ChitraCollection #BrownBetty #TeaHistory #BritishCeramics by @tea.museum

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a month ago