If one is to go by the accounts of Chou Kao-ch’i who authored the Yang Hsien ming hu hsi, an account dealing with Ishing teapots, it was these teapots, which were the creations of potters at Ishing, that were later made famous to Europeans and were known to them by the Portuguese term, bocarro. Bocarro means large mouth. These were teapots that were of small size and came to Europe along with tea to become the models after which the European teapots were first fashioned.
However, this view has been disputed and teapots in Europe may have been attributed to either the Islamic coffee pots or to the Chinese wine vessels that were being imported as curiosity items. In any case, there is no denying the fact that tea was originally Chinese, even though teapots as we know them today are European. To begin with, European teapots were heavy cast having short, straight and replaceable spouts that were different to the Chinese teapots. This was followed by large scale importations of teapots through the East India Company, which recognizing the increasing demand, imported them and they also made for extra ballast for ships on which they were being sent.
With industrialization, the growing middle class had surplus cash and they wanted to imitate the lifestyles of the upper classes and this included the afternoon tea ritual, which was common amongst the more fortunate parts of society. The market for teapots thus, grew and renowned artist-merchants like Josiah Wedgwood and Josiah Spode began to cater to this growing demand. The design of teapots catered to every taste and style and it incorporated every major trend in Victorian art and craft styles including Renaissance, Gothic, Chinese, Moorish, Japanese, as well as Art Nouveau.
Contemporary design of teapots made a return to simpler forms and during the 1960s became functional, to depict the modernism that was sweeping all and by the next ten years, novelty teapots made reappearance. There have always been constant changes to the design of teapots, with the passage of time. Sometimes they tend to be elegant and many of these teapots reflect the classic patterns of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
There are a number of common types and styles of teapots and these include Classic Brown Betty Teapots, Japanese Tetsubin Teapots, Silver and Porcelain Teapots as well as Chinese Yixing Teapots and Clear Glass Teapots. Each has their own distinctive style and is popular among various sections of society.
