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11 Snazzy Teapots That Grabbed Everyone’s Attention at Auction

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Two ornate ceramic teapots: one decorated in blue and white with a dragon spout, the other featuring intricate, colorful patterns and a seated figure.
via Canva

Vintage teapots are spilling over with their shares of personality and measured history. It’s really something to behold. It’s no surprise too then that teapots are able to fetch the kind of money that they do. If you love your whole tea drinking ritual too, then these teapots are likely to strike their own chords of appreciation from you.

1. He Tian Jade Cloisonne Teapot

A decorative jade teapot with intricate patterns and a dragon-shaped handle. It features a square body with golden embellishments and an ornate, colorful handle arching over the top. The design is elegant and detailed.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Sweden Art Auction

Sold for: $13,000

Jade. Intricate details. Gold embellishments. Yep, this teapot is as valuable as it is ornate — no question.

2. Antique Thai Enameled Copper Teapot 

A colorful, ornamental teapot with intricate floral and swirling designs in red, blue, and gold. It features a rounded body, a curved spout, a decorative lid with a handle, and a metallic handle extending above. It rests against a simple, dark backdrop.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Millea Bros Ltd

Sold for: $6,000

Enameled copper teapots are particularly coveted by collectors, beloved for their fun patterns and bright colors. This antique Thai pot explodes with culture, adding to its value.

3. Minton Majolica Teapot

Porcelain sculpture of a vulture entangled with a green serpent on a brown base. The serpent wraps around the vulture's body, and both appear intricately detailed with natural colors and textures.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Strawser Auction Group

Sold for: $30,000

Well, this is inventive. At first glance, you’d think this snake-meets-vulture collab is a sculpture, but it’s actually a functional (and, ahem, $30,000) teapot. Because nothing says “peaceful afternoon tea” like two violent animals going at each other’s throats. Pinkies up. 

4. Russian Silver Enamel Teapot

A decorative, ornate container with intricate blue and gold patterns, featuring a spout and a lid. The patterns include swirls and floral motifs. It is set on a light-colored surface against a yellow background.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Empire Auction Company

Sold for: $5,500

This tapered spherical teapot is made of Russian silver and embellished with delicate blue and white flowers and designs. The gilt pot is hallmarked “Moscow,” adding to its authenticity and value.

5. Japanese Pure Gold Teapot

Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Dallas Auction Gallery

Sold for: $27,500

It’s no surprise that a teapot made of solid, 22-karat gold is going to bring in some serious change. This piece of art is decorated even further with a beaded embossment, and was sold with a glass encasement to showcase the teapot.

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6. Antique Tibetan Copper Butter Teapot

A decorative teapot with intricate metalwork, featuring a golden figure holding the lid and a detailed spout shaped like an animal head. The teapot has a combination of copper and bronze colors with ornate designs.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Material Culture

Sold for: $5,000

Hand-beaten copper, detailed silver work, and a splash of gold make this teapot seriously stunning. The spout’s got some flair, the handle is literally a monk, and the domed lid is topped with a big, bold lotus bud finial.

7. Meissen Porcelain Cockerel-Form Teapot

Ceramic teapot in the shape of a rooster, featuring intricate feather details with a mix of purple, brown, and cream colors. The rooster has a comb on its head and an open beak, with the handle forming part of its tail.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and New Orleans Auction Galleries

Sold for: $4,400

We love a good figure teapot. This rooster is worth a cock-a-doodle fortune at more than $4,000.

8. Chinese Blue and White Phoenix Head Teapot

A blue and white ceramic teapot featuring detailed dragon motifs and floral patterns. It has a curved handle and a pointed lid with decorative elements, showcasing intricate craftsmanship typical of Asian pottery.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and A BAO ART AUCTION INC

Sold for: $4,000

This looks like some of the most coveted china with a white and blue color scheme, and the surprise phoenix design makes it all the more special. 

9. Ming Dynasty Cloisonne Teapot

A decorative, ornate teapot with a long spout and handle designed like a dragon. It features intricate floral patterns in blue, red, yellow, and black, and has a domed lid with a small finial, set against a dark background.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and LOUIS J. DIANNI, LLC

Sold for: $3,500

This Ming-era teapot rocks bold Jingtai blue with colorful lotus flowers and dragon details. Bronze mounts, a reinforced spout, and the original zipper-carved chain make it a real standout.

10. Chinese Pure Gold Melon Teapot

A gold teapot with an ornate design featuring intricate, swirling patterns and raised motifs. The teapot has a curved spout and an elegantly shaped handle. The body resembles a pumpkin shape, set against a black background.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and New Castle Art & Antique Gallery

Sold for: $30,000

There’s no world in which we’d drop $30,000 on a piece of kitchenware, no matter how pretty. Still, since this teapot might just be worth its literal weight in gold, its price tag seems to make a bit more sense.

11. Set of Enamel Bronze Flower Teapot with Cups

Colorful, ornate teapot with a black handle, gold accents, and intricate floral patterns, accompanied by four matching teacups with similar designs. The background is plain gray.
Image courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Jumbo Auction House

Sold for: $4,750

This enameled set is beyond beautiful with a mostly yellow backdrop and delicate floral patterns with black accents. The set, which sold for nearly $5,000, comes with matching teacups.

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Meet the Writer


Matt Staff

Matt has spent over the last 8 years as both a writer and editor, working in Seattle and Brooklyn, where he is now based. He loves escaping the tirelessly fast pace of the “Mad Apple” that is NYC by taking walks and runs through parks where he’s able to catch up on the latest tea about society from the city’s ever chatty, always hungry, occasionally maniacal, pigeons. They always have a lot to say. When he’s not taking his urban nature strolls, or dutifully combing the deepest rabbit holes of the internet to find the content that’s worth sinking your mind’s teeth into, he’s likely holed up at a dark-lit dive bar with a new book and/or some friends, or just easily he could be on the hunt for the next addition to his steadily growing plant family.



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