A tapestry and tea

Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.
Last week, my friend Lynn wrote to let me know of yet another online resource I might want to check out, the Getty Museum Collection website. I had not heard of this site, but following her recommendation, I followed this link and searched for the term "tea." I found lots of fun things to check out, but the image that most astonished me was this one, a tapestry titled, "Le Thé de l'impératrice, from L'Histoire de l'empereur de la Chine Series," which means, "The Tea of the Empress, from The History of the Emperor of China Series." Wow. Just wow.

This wool and silk French tapestry is circa 1697-1705, and the piece measures 165 x 75 inches. I cannot even imagine the work that went into this piece … but oh, how beautiful! I don't believe I've ever seen a tapestry depicting teatime before. Have you?
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