Covered tea pot, from a tea service

During the 1700s, Europeans were fascinated with travel accounts of exotic places that few would actually visit, like China, Japan, and India. In place of actual encounters, people surrounded themselves with products imported from Asia and the Middle East or influenced by Eastern designs. English ceramics factories like Worcester imitated Chinese ceramics and decorated its porcelain with Asian motifs, such as the landscapes and exotic birds seen here, in an effort to compete with a lucrative market.