Tea Strainer

Unknown Filipino, Filipino

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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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