Comparatively few teapots were made in England before the eighteenth century and these are now exceedingly rare. As the fashion for drinking tea spread, the demand for the right kind of vessel in which to brew it brought about new types of containers for sugar, milk and tea. These tea accoutrements were made increasingly throughout the eighteenth century until, by the final decades, they had become an important branch of the silversmith’s work. Late seventeenth century teapots are unique and are mostly seen in museums. Outstanding among them is the historical conical-topped teapot (1670) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, with the spout quaintly set at right-angles to the handle, a practice which was short-lived. Another shape of this early period looks like a melon or similar fruit.

Small, simple teapots shaped like plump pears, either completely circular or polygonal, were fashionable by the eighteenth century. Lids were generally hinged and swan-necked spouts were also often given a hinged flap at their opening, presumably to prevent heat loss. These little teapots, usually with wooden handles and perhaps a wooden finial upon their lids to prevent fingers from burning on the hot metal, remained popular for many years. They might be undecorated, chased, engraved or adorned with cut-card work. Certain examples were equipped with a stand beneath which was placed a spirit lamp.

Antique Collector MagazineFrom about 1720 another type appeared: the globular or bullet-shaped pot, with the spout opposite the handle which was by now the general custom. In Scotland spherical teapots, standing upon a high stemmed foot, reached a perfection of shape which London silversmiths never quite produced, perhaps because the form was not so popular, or because they did not wish to emulate the Scottish craftsmen. By the 1730s the highly-decorative rococo influence became apparent on pieces of domestic silver, including teapots, and the simple vessel was embellished with scrolls and flowers, beautifully chased, its spout sometimes shaped like a dragon and the simple finial of previous decades replaced perhaps by the popular pineapple or a Chinaman. The Chinaman was typical of another decorative style at this time — the Orientally-inspired chinoiseries, the rococo version of which was pronounced and vigorous. Plain teapots were also produced. By the middle of the eighteenth century the somewhat ungainly inverted-pear shape emerged, with a short stem and wide foot- rim. Decoration generally included flat-chased borders or embossed rococo ornament. Spouts were also ornamental, formed in a pleasing curve, often fluted in the swan-neck shape, while the handle might consist of a double scroll.

Although the cost of tea was high, the beverage was an obsessive requirement by the 1760s, and its amazing popularity brought further demands for tea equipage. Despite the introduction of Sheffield plate, the very affluent still preferred sterling silver, and the numbers who could aspire to it were growing since the old hand methods of working silver were beginning to be replaced by less expensive mechanised techniques. Fortuitously for silversmiths, such techniques coincided with a new influence in fashion: neo-classical inspired outlines and ornament. The shapes of teapots now became straight-sided and because of this could be simply produced from less expensive, thin silver, rolled to a fine gauge by the improved rolling-mill.

Although costs were thus reduced, the vessels produced lost none of their visual attraction because shapes were beautifully proportioned and elegant. The new fashion called for delicate engraving of foliate bands, bows, rams’ heads, the key pattern, running floral scrolls, swags of foliage or cloth and laurel wreaths. Bases of teapots were flat and shapes could be circular, oval or polygonal. A silverstand on four moulded feet would be placed, beneath the pot because of its flat base, but by the turn of the nineteenth century the tray had diminished in fashion and the feet appeared on the pot itself. Sometimes the marks of teapots and stands are different because they were not generally bought together. A graceful urn-shaped pot, standing upon a stem with a foot-rim, was also popular.

Towards the final years of the eighteenth century tea services began to appear, generally consisting of a teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl and matching hot-water jug and, after about 1800, a coffee pot might also be included. Designs by now had become more varied and decoration was often over-elaborate, both tendencies growing as the years progressed. The diversity of shapes later included one form of teapot with a strange – at that time – peaked front, a curvaceous oblong body, standing upon a low foot-rim. Others might be heavily embossed, displaying the revived rococo influence which dominated many. Gadrooning, too, was popular. The over-indulgence of this period, manifesting itself in varied shapes and decoration, continued until the young Queen Victoria came to the throne, when the teapot, like all other pieces, was subject to the many revived styles.

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Fashion for drinking tea: Teapots collections