K.S. Lo and Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

Dedicated to studying the Chinese tea culture and tea ware, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware opened to the public in 1984. In 1981, the Museum received a donation from Dr K.S. Lo, founder of the Vitasoy Group. The contributed collection comprised about 600 ceramic and purple clay tea vessels and related relics dating from the Western Zhou dynasty to the twentieth century. Forming the core of the Museum’s collection, these treasures have revitalized the historic building which houses the Museum. To date, more than 1,300 pieces of Chinese tea ware, pottery and seal carving donated by the K.S. Lo Foundation are showcased in the Museum.

The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware was re-developed from the heritage building Flagstaff House. Also known as Headquarter House, Flagstaff House was residence of the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong until 1978. Completed between 1844 and 1846 in Greek Revival style, the two-storey mansion is the oldest western architecture extant in Hong Kong today. In 1989, Flagstaff House was declared a protected monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

When the British Forces handed the Flagstaff House back to the Hong Kong Government for re-development in the early 1980s, there were several proposals on the usage of this building from different government departments. Thanks to Dr Lo’s active lobbying, the monument was awarded to the Urban Council for refurbishment into the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware we see today. Dr Lo also unconditionally donated his valuable tea ware collection from the Sotheby auction to the Museum. Subsequently, with contribution from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong Park was developed. This corner of Central District then became a cherished oasis in the concrete jungle.

In 1981, the Hong Kong Government handed management of Flagstaff House to the Urban Council. A plan was drafted to transform it into a thematic museum of Chinese tea culture. As a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware has been devoted to the collection, study and display of tea ware and related information. The basic collection donated by Dr Lo, about 600 pieces in total, is displayed in the Chinese Tea Drinking permanent exhibition on the ground floor of the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware.

Occupying the former site of the Victoria Barracks, Hong Kong Park opened to the public in 1991. The Park is a rare green gem in the middle of the built-up urban centre. In this small oasis surrounded by skyscrapers, one can find the quaint old Museum of Tea Ware. This colonial building with more than 160 years of history is a classical beauty of subtle elegance. More than 300 purple clay tea vessels inside are creme of Dr Lo’s lifelong collection.