The earliest teapots were relatively small often of a pear shape or what is known as a ‘bullet’ ( rounded shape). They were reasonably small as in 1720 the East India Company were importing Chinese tea for 24 shillings a pound (about £300 today).
The middle eighteenth century saw the introduction of larger rococo examples but it was really only by the 1770’s that tea drinking really came to the fore and it was about this time that it seems to have superseded coffee in popularity. The teapots tend to be of oval shape with a few drum shape examples some with a teapot stand ( a small salver) and often with very fine engraving. By the early nineteenth century teapots generally became much larger as the price of tea was now far lower (Indian tea was now making its presence) and the styles became much more varied.
Traditional teapot stands matched the teapots that were placed upon them. This meant that the teapot stand would be the correct shape, style, and design as the teapot in use. It was not common for teapot stands to be sold or made separately from their corresponding teapots. For example, if there was a certain pattern applied to the circumference of the teapot, a matching pattern would likely be found spanning the surface of the matching stand.
Here at William Walter Antiques, we have a large selection of teapots with stands and teapot stands.