Teapot or sake pot

1662 - 1722

The first teapots to come to Europe were quite small. This was not because tea was so expensive here, as is sometimes thought. It was more to do with the fact that the Chinese preferred small teapots. In seventeenth-century Europe they were first and foremost status symbols. They were only occasionally used for serving tea.

• Places and dates

  China, 1662 - 1722 (Production)

• Materials

  Enamel (fused coating) , Porcelain

• Dimensions

  • Height: 195 mm (Total)
  • Width: 135 mm (Total)
  • Depth: 105 mm (Total)

• Category

  Containers

• Object number

  S75/99

• IPR status

  Public domain