Tea Sets
Early 19th Century French Restauration Antique Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century American Anglo-Japanese Tea Sets
Rosewood
Early 1900s English Gothic Antique Tea Sets
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1960s British Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1970s Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware
Early 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1870s British Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1790s English Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s German Jugendstil Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Brass
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1780s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1880s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Queen Anne Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Brass
1950s Vintage Tea Sets
20th Century Tea Sets
Silver
1940s Mexican Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1960s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1780s English Neoclassical Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Gold
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1930s Dutch Vintage Tea Sets
Metal, Tin
20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
1910s English Vintage Tea Sets
Britannia Standard Silver
18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Country Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic
1930s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1820s English George IV Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Gold
2010s French Tea Sets
Earthenware
1970s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Terracotta
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Late 19th Century German Jugendstil Antique Tea Sets
Tin
Late 20th Century British Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century European Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Mother-of-Pearl, Rosewood
1980s Italian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1890s French Antique Tea Sets
Faience
Antique, New and Vintage Tea Sets
Ready to serve high tea and brunch for your family and friends? Start with the right antique, new or vintage tea set.
Tea is a multicultural, multinational beverage and isn’t confined to any particular lifestyle or age group. It has humble beginnings, and one of its best-known origin stories places the first cups of tea in 2700 B.C. in China, where it was recognized for its medicinal properties. Jump ahead to 17th-century England, when Chinese tea began to arrive at ports in London. During the early 1800s, tea became widely affordable, and the concept of teatime took shape all over England. Today, more than 150 million people reportedly drink tea daily in the United States.
Early tea drinkers enjoyed their beverage in a bowl, and English potters eventually added a handle to the porcelain bowls so that burning your fingers became less of a teatime hazard. With the rise in the popularity of teatime, tea sets, also referred to as tea service, became a hot commodity.
During Queen Victoria’s reign, teakettles and coffeepots were added to tea services that were quite large — indeed, small baked goods were served with your drink back then, and a tea set could include many teacups and saucers, a milk pot and other accessories.
During the early 1920s, a sterling-silver full tea service and tray designed by Tiffany Co. might include a hot-water kettle on a stand, a coffeepot, teapot, a creamer with a small lip spout, a waste bowl and a bowl for sugar, which the British were stirring into tea as early as the 18th century.
But you don’t have to limit your tea set to Victorian or Art Deco styles — shake up teatime with an artful contemporary service. If the bold porcelain cups and saucers by Italian brand Seletti are too unconventional for your otherwise subdued tea circle, find antique services on 1stDibs from Japan, France and other locales as well as vintage mid-century modern tea sets and neoclassical designs.





