Dutch-born silversmiths John Philip Elers and David Elers came to London in the 1680s. Their father, Martin, had been a merchant there since 1675. An uncle, also a London merchant, sold wares that included china and “lackery” (lacquer). Before 1693, the brothers established a pottery at Vauxhall, London, but moved operations to Bradwell Wood, Staffordshire, in about 1690. They gave up their lease on the Staffordshire property by 1698; they were bankrupt in 1700.

This teapot is an example of the wares for which the Elers brothers are best known: fine-bodied, unglazed red stoneware in imitation of Chinese Yixing wares. The Dutch East India Company began importing Yixing wares to Holland in quantity beginning in about 1670. Soon it was being imported directly to England. Before the end of the decade, Dutch potters began to produce imitations of Yixing ware. In Staffordshire, the Elers brothers found a source of clay that produced the desired color and that was susceptible of being formed by slip casting, or pouring liquid clay into molds. The brothers, thought to be the first in England to employ this method, may have done so because they were familiar with casting from their metalworking experience. Much of their output, including this teapot, was finished by turning on a lathe prior to the application of sprigged ornament. Authors remarked on the high quality of the Elers’ wares and their innovations in ceramic production as early at the eighteenth century, but their production methods, significantly different from those of the industry in general, limited output and contributed to a higher cost of goods.