Among Friends
subtitleJapanese Tea Ceramics
Japanese Tea Ceramics

Publication
AMONG FRIENDS. JAPANESE TEA CERAMICS
Japanese tea ceramics are utensils used to prepare the powdered green matcha tea in a tea ceremony known as chanoyu (literally ‘hot water for tea’). In a tea gathering, the objects enter into a quiet dialogue with each other and stimulate conversations between host and guests. The enthusiasm for this special art form brings tea people (chajin) and ceramics lovers together. The friendship between MK&G’s founding director Justus Brinckmann (1843–1915) and the art dealer S. Bing (1838–1905) decisively influenced the MK&G collection of Japanese tea ceramics. Exchanges about tea ceramics and their production also formed the basis for the friendship between the ceramist Jan Kollwitz (b. 1960) and the writer Christoph Peters (b. 1966). MK&G invited them both, as well as the group from the Urasenke tea school that practices chanoyu in the MK&G’s Shōseian tea house to co-curate the exhibition. The exhibition is part of a project for academic research into MK&G‘s East Asia Collection sponsored by the Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius.