Photos by Ellen Easton ©2012 - All Rights Reserved  - *Photos By The Metropolitan Museum of Art© - All Rights Reserved

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Metropolitan Museum of Art's Treasure Trove of Tea

In the newly 2012 renovated American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts, the covered or barrel-vaulted ceilings, skylights, oak floors, and limestone trim bring a new life with contemporary homage to the traditional Beaux-Arts design that now showcase the second floor galleries.

The display of the magisterial collections of The Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Galleries of Eighteenth-Century American Art devoted to paintings and architecture, furniture, silver, and other decorative arts and the Joan Whitney Payson Galleries thematic groupings, in a broadly chronological order, of paintings and sculpture of the 19th and early 20th centuries flow freely to the Mezzanine.

As noted by the museum, "The Mezzanine originally opened in 1988. The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art is the American Wing’s visible-storage facility for works that are not on view in the galleries because of space limitations or other considerations. The center is completely accessible to the public, even though it is the actual working storage facility used by the American Wing’s curatorial staff. Virtually the only objects that cannot be seen either here or in the galleries are those on temporary loan to other institutions, those currently undergoing conservation treatments, and light-sensitive works on paper and textiles, which can be seen by appointment."

Within forty-five floor-to-ceiling glass cases, objects are arranged by material or type (paintings, sculpture, furniture, and woodwork, glass, ceramics, silver, and metalwork) and, within those categories, by date and form. Visible storage allows visitors to examine multiple versions of a form and to understand how it has evolved; for example, pieces of American silver include exquisite tea wares by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Paul Revere, Jr.

Along one side of the entrance corridor are some of the center’s computer stations, which contain individual in-depth records for all American Wing objects. Indeed, these digital portals can be used as a starting point for exploring what you might want to see not only in the Luce Center but also throughout the American Wing.

If you are interested in American silver, a search for “silver teapot” provides images and locations for all such teapots in the collection and can be the basis for a self-directed tour. Additionally, there are areas to sit and rest in the center, with wireless connectivity throughout, so you can use your own device to access the Museum’s online resources.

Regardless of how many times has one seen the images of Mary Cassatt's, "Lady at the Tea Table" and "The Cup of Tea" or William McGregor Paxton's, "Tea Leaves" recreated on stationery, book covers, or the like, nothing can compare to seeing the originals. The dimensional texture of the brush strokes, combined with the vibrant colors, bring the paintings to life as if one is joining an old friend for tea.

Whether one views a 1700s Federal period room set for tea, a classical rounded silver teapot, or the whimsy of a porcelain honey pot, the collections hold something for every taste level.

When the day is done, a most befitting close to end one's tea journey would be to sit looking out into Central Park in one of the museums cafes or restaurants and partake in an afternoon tea.