Parts of a Teapot – Spout, Lid, Knob, Handle, Body and Foot

All 10 parts on the diagram

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Outside 7

Spout The tea is served through the spout.
Handle The part held in the hand to lift the pot and pour.
Lid Covers the opening at the top. The dry tea and the hot water go in there.
Body The main vessel, where the tea leaves steep in hot water.
Knob The small grip on top of the lid, for lifting it off.
Foot The raised base under the body that the pot stands on.
Air hole A small hole in the lid. It lets air in as the tea pours out, so the spout does not drip and splash.

Inside 3

Strainer holes A built-in strainer at the spout's base. Holes in the wall of the pot. By tradition there are seven.
Gallery The ledge inside the opening of the pot. The lid is seated in it.
Flange The rim under the lid that fits down inside the opening. A deep flange keeps the lid from falling off as the pot is tipped.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Teapot (lid, handle, spout, body, the built-in strainer at the spout's base, the air or vent hole in the lid, the flanges of the lid, the knob, the raised foot), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot. (2) Potters' handbooks read as full-text search passages on the Internet Archive: Steve Woodhead, The Teapot Book (A & C Black, 2005) (gallery, lid flange, spout, the air hole in the lid), https://archive.org/details/teapotbook0000wood; David Winkley, Pottery (Drake, 1974) (a flanged lid seated in a gallery, strainer holes, knob, foot), https://archive.org/details/pottery0000wink; Daniel Rhodes, Pottery Form (Chilton, 1976) (knob, flange, foot, the strainer with seven holes), https://archive.org/details/potteryform00rhod; Kathy Triplett, Handbuilt Tableware (handle, lid, knob, spout, body, foot, strainer holes), https://archive.org/details/handbuilttablewa0000kath. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's pot, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A teapot has an opening with a lid at the top, a handle, and a spout the tea is served through. This drawing names seven parts on the outside and three that only show inside.

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Outside first, then inside

The body holds the tea and stands on the foot. The spout pours, the handle is for holding, and the lid covers the opening; the knob on top lifts it. The small air hole in the lid lets air in as the tea pours out. Cut through, the pot shows the gallery, the ledge the lid sits in, and the flange under the lid that drops inside it. The strainer holes are at the spout's base.

Gallery and flange fit together: the gallery is on the pot, the flange is on the lid.
Knob and knop both name the grip on the lid. Potters say knob.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a teapot called?

Outside: the body, spout, handle, lid, the knob on the lid, and the foot. Inside: the strainer holes at the base of the spout, the gallery the lid sits in, and the flange under the lid.

Why is there a hole in a teapot lid?

It lets air into the pot as the tea pours out. Without it, or a loosely fitting lid, the tea does not flow smoothly, and the spout is more likely to drip and splash.

What is the knob on a teapot lid called?

The knob. Books on old china also write knop. It is the small grip on top of the lid, for lifting it off.

What stops a teapot lid falling off when you pour?

The flange: the rim under the lid that drops down inside the opening. Modern teapots have a deep flange so the lid stays on when the pot is tipped.