Paris, 17 September 2012
In partnership with Le Palais des Thés, the Guimet Museum will open its new exhibition titled “Le thé à Guimet, histoires d’une boisson millénaire” (“Tea the Guimet way, history of an age old drink”), from 3 October 2012 to 7 January 2013.
The museum comes back to this universally known drink, the most popular in the world, born in China under the Tang dynasty. This kind of Camellia (Camellia sinensis) was widely spread in the South East of China and started to be grown in bushes during modern age. The infusion of tea leaves enters into people habits and is progressively winning over all East Asia. After two millenniums, its consumption passes through three phases: the age of boiled tea under Tang dynasty (618-907), the age of grounded tea under the Song (960- 1279) and the age of brewed tea under the Ming (1368-1644).
During this happening, different activities are proposed: guided tours, ateliers, meetings, demonstration and tasting can be booked. An atelier dedicated to the tea ceremony (by Yuko Takaoka) or also the lecture-performance by Yuko Suzuki titled “L’encore et le thé, poème calligraphiés” (“The more and the tea, calligraphic poetry”) are definitely worth the visit.
The exhibition is supported by different patrons: the AREVA Foundation, historical patron of Guimet Museum, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Terre Entière.