This exhibition explored the custom of tea preparation and tea drinking in English life through its most prominent artifact—the teapot. The teapots selected for this exhibition were 100 of the finest 18th and early 19th century examples from the 3,000 in the Norwich Castle Museum's acclaimed Twining Teapot Gallery.

This exhibition was organized by the Norfolk Museum Services, R. Twining and Company Ltd., and the Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey. It was made possible through the generous support of Twining's. The exhibition was curated by Steven Klindt and Mary Chandor.

The exhibition explored the history and evolution of the teapot in England and the emergence of the British porcelain manufacturers through several themes. The British Tea Ceremony was explored through a selection of items pertinent to the service of tea, including a hot water urn, teaspoons, sugar nips, porcelain teacups and saucers, and replicas of 18th century Twinings tea packets. Visitors to the exhibition saw why part of tea drinking lay in the beautiful and delicate equipment it required. These accessories became a status symbol while tea drinking provided the opportunity for individuals to reveal their wealth and taste.

The struggle of the early British potters to compete with the exceptionally fine porcelains from China is illustrated in several ways. The exhibition examines different aspects of how the British tried to remain competitive in the early and mid-18th century through the creation of faux surfaces which were imitations of other surfaces such as agate, black basalt, and even porcelain. The early attempts by the first British factories to produce porcelain is illustrated through an amazing group of teapots which, unlike many of their contemporaries, did not shatter through usage. The earliest form of porcelain made by the British was a soft-paste variety which was unable to withstand the intense heat of boiling water, thereby causing the porcelain to shatter when used. This phenomenon gave rise to the term "flying teapot". Some of these early and rare teapots which have survived intact were included in the exhibition.

"Artificial" is considered an insulting term today, but to British potters in the 18th century it was a term of praise. Some of the teapots will show ways in which potters practiced their skills and artifice to copy or master nature. It was mostly the importation of Chinese pots that provided British potters with the stimulus to change their traditional brown pots and create new kinds of teaware. Because the British did not succeed in making porcelain on a commercial scale until 1745, they learned to rival the imports by using materials and techniques of their own. They worked rather like alchemists who attempted to make gold and precious stones by artificial means, inventing new wares such as agate, jasper, and tortoiseshell. They also imitated pre-existing materials such as silver and porcelain.

To remain competitive, the British needed to be inventive. As a result, we see new means of applying decoration to teapots emerge, whether through applied surface relief or printing as a substitute for painting. A salvation to the British industry was the creation of creamware by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1760's. This was the first practical earthenware pale enough in color to compete with porcelain. At this point the exhibition turned a corner and explored the new sense of independence and self-confidence among the British manufacturers.

The impact of the style-conscious consumer is explored through selections of teapots which illustrated the impact of Greek and Roman art on design in the late 18th and early 19th century, as well as the rapid changes in designs and materials which occurred in the early 19th century as the demand for new shapes and patterns increased.

The exhibit concluded with an examination of the romantic style of teapots which emerged after 1820, illustrating through a diverse selection the flamboyant shapes and designs that were the hallmark of this style. New teapot shapes began to appear every few years and since there were no copyright laws, we find manufacturers shamelessly copying one another. Occasionally, there were slight differences, but frequently shapes and designs were identical although made at different factories.

In addition to the above themes, it should be noted that the history of the British teapot cannot be separated from that of Twining's, believed to be the world's oldest tea merchants. Twining's has operated from the same location in the Strand, London, since 1706. Twining's has provided funds to house, catalogue, promote, and further improve the collection at the Norwich Castle Museum. It also funded this exhibition, which, in similar form, toured England, Australia, Sweden, and North America.