Teapot in the context of "Slipcasting"

In European academic traditions, fine art (or fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as pottery or most metalwork) or is generally of limited artistic quality in order to appeal to the masses. In the aesthetic theories developed in the Italian Renaissance, the highest art was that which allowed the full expression and display of the artist's imagination, unrestricted by any of the practical considerations involved in, say, making and decorating a teapot. It was also considered important that making the artwork did not involve dividing the work between different individuals with specialized skills, as might be necessary with a piece of furniture, for example. Even within the fine arts, there was a hierarchy of genres based on the amount of creative imagination required, with history painting placed higher than still life.

Historically, the five main fine arts were painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and poetry. Other "minor or subsidiary arts" were also included, especially performing arts such as theatre and dance, which were counted as "among the most ancient and universal." In practice, outside education, the concept is typically only applied to the visual arts. The old master print and drawing were included as related forms to painting, just as prose forms of literature were to poetry. Today, the range of what would be considered fine arts (in so far as the term remains in use) commonly includes additional modern forms, such as film, photography, and video production/editing, as well as traditional forms made in a fine art setting, such as studio pottery and studio glass, with equivalents in other materials.

A Brown Betty is a type of teapot, round and with a manganese brown glaze known as Rockingham glaze.

The original teapots came from a red clay that was discovered in the Stoke-on-Trent area of Britain, in 1695. This clay resulted in a ceramic which seemed to retain heat better and so found use as the material for the teapot as early as the seventeenth century. These early pots were tall and shaped more like coffee pots. In the nineteenth century the pots began to take on the more rounded shape of the modern Brown Betty. The Rockingham Glaze was brushed on the pot and allowed to run down the sides, creating a streaky finish as it was fired.

A tea cosy or tea warmer is a cover for a teapot, traditionally made of cloth. It insulates a teapot, keeping the contents warm, with its properties based on low thermal conductivity of the air trapped underneath and inside the cosy. In this respect the cosy is similar to a thermos flask that had become popular in the beginning of the 20th century.

Sometimes, if the tea is served in a restaurant or in a hotel, the teapot is covered with a tea cosy that has a metal exterior to protect the inner fabric of the cosy from wear and tear and also to further improve the insulation of the teapot. A typical cosy is easy to put over or pop off the teapot in order to pour the tea, but some are wrapped around the teapot and have holes for the spout and the handle (so called "bachelor" teapots). The "crinoline lady" cosies include a porcelain doll on the top, with her flowing skirts providing the thermal insulation.

A tealight (also tea-light, tea light, tea candle, or informally tea lite, t-lite or t-candle) is a candle contained in a thin metal or plastic cup so that its wax can melt completely while lit. They are typically small, circular, usually wider than their height, and inexpensive. Tealights derive their name from their use in teapot warmers, but are also used as food warmers in general, e.g. fondue.

Tealights are a popular choice for accent lighting and for heating scented oil. A benefit that they have over taper candles is that they do not drip. Tealights may be set afloat on water for decorative effect. Because of their small size and low level of light, multiple tealights are often burned simultaneously. Longer-burning tealights may be called nightlights. They are also lit for religious purposes.

Earl Grey tea is a tea blend which has been flavoured with oil of bergamot. The rind's fragrant oil is added to black tea to give Earl Grey its unique taste. However, many, if not most, Earl Greys use artificial bergamot flavour as this is cheaper and it has a longer shelf-life. The taste of the artificially flavoured teas is considered to be less well-balanced than that of naturally flavoured Earl Grey.

Traditionally, Earl Grey was made from black teas such as Chinese keemun, and therefore intended to be served without milk. Sometimes it is blended with lapsang souchong tea, which lends a smoky character. Other varieties have been introduced as well, such as green or oolong.