Black Raku ware bowl, attributed to Hon'ami Koetsu

Black Raku ware bowl
Attributed to Hon'ami Koetsu
Japan
Early 17th century
Museum no. 247-1877

The Japanese chanoyu, or tea ceremony, demonstrates a belief that, given discipline and attention to detail, the most routine acts and humble objects can acquire a transcendent form of beauty. Significantly, the serene chanoyu was established at a turbulent time in Japan's history. Chanonyu was practised in a small square room, also a stage for ikebana or flower arranging. The room was designed to achieve a meditative calmness while participation in the tea ceremony was a qualification for membership of polite society. Tea had been known since the third millennium BC, but the chanoyu with its precise rituals and beautifully considered paraphernalia turned the drinking of a simple beverage into a highly aestheticised performance with spiritual as well as gastronomic dimensions.

Stephen Bayley, Guest Curator