‘TEA FOR EVERYONE’ ON VIEW AT FREER GALLERY OF ART

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Freer Gallery of Art presents “Tea for Everyone: Japanese Popular Ceramics for Tea Drinking,” on view through September 7.

Representations of ceramics used in the tea ceremony (chanoyu) have tended to focus on tea-drinking activities of the Japanese elite-warriors, nobles and wealthy merchants — and on the early phase of the practice in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.

This exhibition turns to a later moment in the history of tea, when enjoyment of powdered tea (matcha) became widespread among artisans, townspeople, even farmers. Numerous small, provincial kilns active in the Nineteenth Century provided attractive, affordable ceramics for preparing and sharing powdered tea.

This exhibition presents tealeaf storage jars, water jars, tea bowls, teacups and teapots used by people of modest means for sharing tea.

The Freer Gallery of Art is at 12th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, on the National Mall. For more information, www.asia.si.edu or 202-633-1000.