This teapot is from a tea service that also includes of a milk jug and sugar basin. The teapot form which evolved in Europe began as an imitation of the Chinese wine pot. Although the first silver teapots date from the late 17th century, by the time this teapot was made the object was a familiar one in many households. This example, in Sheffield plate, has a wooden handle with a scrolled thumb rest, and a hinged lid with a turned wooden knob. A wide choice of material, including cheaper ceramics and glass as well as inexpensive Sheffield plate and tinned copper, expanded the market for tea wares. By the 19th century, tea had become a popular beverage and was often served with milk and sugar.

Sheffield plate originated, with the discovery in 1742, that bars of silver and copper, in unequal proportions, fused by heating under pressure, could be rolled into sheets of laminated metal and worked like silver. The industry this material created flourished for about 100 years until superseded by electroplating in the 1840s.