Adam-style Arts & Crafts silver teapot

Excellent example from the Arts & Crafts era of a hand-raised silver teapot by The Guild of Handicrafts maker, John Sidney Reeve. Its capacity will serve four to five cups of tea.

Reeve has reinterpreted a classic Adam period design from the 1790s and incorporated his own design cues: delicate interwoven rope borders with bead medallions plus applied reeded handle mounts with tri-form bead ends. The inverted fluted body has the unusual feature of a mottled, hammered finish.

The Arts & Crafts movement emerged from a disenchantment with the impersonal, mechanised direction of society in the 19th century and sought to return to a simpler, more fulfilling way of living. The movement was admired for its use of high quality materials and for its emphasis on utility in design.

A silver teapot pours like no other and sterling silver is the perfect material for making teapots:

· No other material can be fashioned into such elegant and detailed forms, reflect light as beautifully, and a perfectly formed silver teapot spout will never drip.

· Second only to diamonds, silver has the highest thermal conductivity of any material, meaning that tea leaves can be brewed at a higher temperature than in any other teapot, allowing the tea leaves to fully release their flavours.

· That same high thermal conductivity means a silver teapot will retain heat and keep tea hot for much longer.

· Unlike porcelain and ceramic teapots, silver is sturdy and long-lasting, does not shatter and the occasional dent can be debruised.