Q.

‘Vera moved to the tea table. There was a cheerful rattle and clink of china. Normality returned.

Tea! Bless ordinary everyday afternoon tea!’

 

Yes, Agatha Christie. Bless ordinary everyday afternoon (and morning, and evening) tea. How has the sipping of glorious tea been celebrated in art?

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A.

Are you a tea drinker? If so, what is your favourite type of tea?

In a 2021 Canadian survey, Narrative Research asked 1,558 tea-drinking Atlantic Canadians this question. Survey said…

Your Favourite Type of Tea. 2021. Atlantic Canada
i.    Black Tea.  67%
ii.   Herbal Tea. 9%
iii.  Green Tea. 9%
iv.  Roobois Tea. 3%
v.   White Tea. 2%
vi.  Oolong Tea. 1%
vii. Other. 9%

 

Meanwhile, we have seen much painterly tea over the centuries…

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Yu Lan (1742-1809). Refined Ladies Tasting Tea

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James Tissot. Tea. 1872

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Mary Cassatt. The Cup of Tea. 1880

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Mary Cassatt. The Tea. 1880

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Mary Cassatt. Lady at the Tea Table. 1885

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Yōshū Chikanobu. Winter Tea Ceremony. 1895

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May Wilson Preston. Petit Déjeuner. 1910

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Stanley Cursiter. Tea Room. 1913

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Henri Matisse. Tea. 1919

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Henri Matisse. Morning Tea. 1920

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Jacob Lawrence. The Apartment. 1943

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www.justcurious.ca

Header Art: Sir John Everett Millais. Afternoon Tea (aka The Gossips). 1889. Winnipeg Art Gallery