Tea

First cultivated in China from the leaves of the tea plant (camellia sinensis) in the second millennia B.C., tea remains central to social and cultural life in East Asia. The increased popularity of tea drinking in 18th-century Europe spurred new forms of sociability, like teatime and the use of specialized table wares, while the economics of the tea trade drove international conflicts. Visitors to The Huntington can enjoy the beverage, encounter its botanical origins around campus, and learn the story of tea through the art and library collections.

Art Museum

Botanical Gardens

Library

Camellia sinensis

Plants

Tea Family

97344

An old tea can found at the old cabin at Mile 69.9 about 100 yards from the left bank

Manuscripts

mssMarston papers V057/0113

Horniman’s Pure Tea the Leaf Not Coloured

Visual Materials

Image of a view of the storefront of Horniman's Tea Warehouse in London, England, showing workers loading boxes of tea onto a horse-drawn cart; Chinese architectural frame around the view with a dragon and Chinese men and women in balconies dressed in traditional ethnic costume.

priJLC_BEV_000670

Talisman chop

Visual Materials

Image of a Tait & Co. tea label with Yin Yang symbol at center; text with elaborate decorative border made up of Chinese men and women in pagoda buildings engaging in various trades and leisure activities.

priJLC_BEV_003486

Two Handled Covered Cup

Decorative arts

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Jean-Baptiste Tandart l'aîné

27.77

Henry E. Huntington and his personal secretary, Mr. Varnum, in front of the billiard, pool, and bowling building on the Huntington grounds, circa 1915

Visual Materials

Mr. Huntington and Mr. Varnum stand at the top of the steps of the bowling alley (now the Tea Room). Mr. Huntington is wearing a dark suit and a light hat, and is holding a cane in his right hand.

photCL 107 vol8 (102)