im a little teapot...

would you like a cup of tea?
tea was a very expensive product when it was first introduced to Europe from China. the teapot is even more rare. Marco Polo brought back few Chinese teapots for the king which soon was copied by the Europeans. the first Europeans teapots only held one or two cups of tea because it was a pricey beverage. the teapot have changed shapes and size since whether it is made of silver, porcelain or pottery. of course the size increased, while the pot became round from 1730-1760, pear-shaped during 1730s, inverted pear-shaped from around 1750s to 1775, straight sides from 1790 to 1810, round and fat body with a base from 1810 to 1835 and now all imaginable shapes are possible.


another clue to when porcelain or pottery teapots were manufactured are the holes inside the teapots at the base of the spout. in the 18th century, the holes were often uneven and few (about 3) compared to those later on. another characteristic about 18th century teapots is that the lid have deep rims that extend down to the body of the teapot. however, the teapots made in Europe had glazed rims because the makers were not skilled enough to make and glaze the whole teapot together like the Chinese did.


silver teapots on the other hand, did not have all metal handles until after the 1850s. wood or ivory was used for the handles instead so that one can hold it even if the silver pot was too hot to hold. Henry Reed was the revolutionist of teapot handles when he insulate the handles with oyster shells in 1849. from then on, the silver teapot handles were insulated with wood or ivory insets.


- cup of red