Thousands of tea connoisseurs are expected to brew up a head of steam for the Weird and Wonderful Novelty Teapot Exhibition, which runs until September 1.

Morpeth Gallery owner Trevor Richards said the event showed off about 3800 teapots worth $163,000.

Mr Richards said the craftsmanship to create high-quality teapots was dwindling in the tea-bag era.

"A proper teapot is actually quite difficult to make," Mr Richards said.

Vintage electric ceramic jugs would also be exhibited this year, showcasing a unique piece of domestic life in decades gone by.

Several featuring faces were worth more than $1000 as they were used as competition prizes but never put on sale.

"These were only ever manufactured in Australia and New Zealand," Mr Richards said. "Nowhere else in the world used ceramic electric jugs because they were worried about mixing water and electricity."