Tea Sets
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Porcelain, Paint
1860s English Industrial Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Tea Sets
Other
1960s Rustic Vintage Tea Sets
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1810s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Turkish Arts and Crafts Tea Sets
Metal, Brass
1770s English Rococo Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century German Victorian Tea Sets
Silver
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s British Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Turkish Arts and Crafts Tea Sets
Paste, Fruitwood, Oak, Paint
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Polish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1830s English Rococo Revival Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century American Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Silver Plate
Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Tea Sets
Wood
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1950s Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain
19th Century European Antique Tea Sets
Pewter
1980s Japanese Showa Vintage Tea Sets
Iron
1920s English Rococo Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Silver Plate, Sterling Silver, Silver Leaf
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Metal, Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Pottery
1860s French Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century East Asian Japonisme Antique Tea Sets
Zinc
Mid-20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
1860s French Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1820s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1880s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Danish Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Tea Sets
Metal
Late 19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Gold
1950s Swedish Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware
19th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s British Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Wood
1920s British Hollywood Regency Vintage Tea Sets
Metal, Silver, Silver Plate, Sterling Silver, Sheet Metal, Silver Leaf
1960s German American Classical Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1970s French Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Glass
Late 20th Century Japanese Showa Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Brass, Pewter
Late 18th Century George III Antique Tea Sets
Copper
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1880s Japanese Showa Antique Tea Sets
Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1820s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
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.