This silver mounted teapot with cover has a moulded decoration of blossoms on the side, possibly intended to appeal to western taste and add value to the wares. The silver spout may have improved the pouring of tea, while the chain, intended to prevent breakage of the lid, and also to keep the lid in place, would have been expensive or difficult to replace. Loose leaves rather than powdered tea was introduced during the Yuan dynasty (1279 – 1368). Globular teapots with wide mouths are thought to have been made in response to these requirements. Metal teapots were soon replaced with stoneware pots and the smaller pots were believed to retain the aroma of the tea more easily. The small hole in the lids of these teapots would have allowed the steam to escape perhaps to avoid over-brewing the tea leaves.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
