Graves Teapot
Late 20th Century Taiwanese Post-Modern Serving Pieces
Stainless Steel
1990s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Blown Glass
20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Metal, Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Recent Sales
20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1980s American Tea Sets
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Pillows and Throws
Cotton
2010s Japanese French Provincial Cabinets
Iron
Vintage 1930s Belgian Art Nouveau Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Ceramic
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century European Moorish Architectural Elements
Wrought Iron
Antique Early 1700s Chinese Qing Ceramics
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Sofas
Fabric
Late 20th Century French Romantic Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Sofas
Wool, Cotton, Beech
Vintage 1930s Belgian Art Nouveau Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Enamel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Rush, Pine
Antique 16th Century Belgian Renaissance Tapestries
Wool, Silk
Vintage 1950s South American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Bronze
Finding the Right Tea-sets for You
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.