Tea Strainer
Unknown Filipino, Filipino
before 20th century
Plant fibers
Overall: 5 7/8 × 3 3/8 × 1 3/4 in. (15 × 8.6 × 4.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Barbara Bowen
42.34.8346
Geography
Place Made: Philippines, Southeast Asia, Asia
Object Name
Tools and Equipment: Food Processing
Research Area
Asia
Not on view
Label
This small, intricately woven tea strainer speaks to tea-drinking culture in the Philippines. The strainer’s simple design suggests that it was likely made for practical use, rather than for aesthetic display. Notice the handle bar and the manufactured holes along the rim, which enhance the strainer’s efficiency. Tea has long been popular in Southeast Asia, and the object’s humble yet elegant design suggests the adoption of tea drinking among Filipino households, which developed further under the influence of European and Chinese merchants on the islands. This strainer provides a glimpse into the daily practices of the Philippines. Consider the importance of tea in your own cultural practices, and how such habits might have differed several centuries ago.
Written by Kevin Lian, ‘25
From the 2023 exhibition Faith and Empire: The Legacy of Conversion and Commerce in the Early Modern World, curated by students of ARTH 20.04, "Faith and Empire: Art in the Early Modern World", taught by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming
Course History
Environmental Studies 44.01/Geography 44.01, Environment and Politics in Southeast Asia, Chris Sneddon, Winter 2023
Exhibition History
Faith and Empire: The Legacy of Conversion and Commerce in the Early Modern World, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 12-December 23, 2023.
Provenance
Barbara Bowen; given to present collection, 1942.
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