$66,360 / set
H 12 in W 18 in D 18 in
Iris & New Art by Durgin Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service Nouveau 167 Pieces
By Durgin Silver Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
after New Art was introduced, Durgin introduced the single motif full-line pattern "Iris", as a
Sterling Silver
Sold
H 12 in W 18 in D 18 in
Iris by Durgin Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service Art Nouveau 98 Pieces Dinner
By Durgin Silver Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
after New Art was introduced, Durgin introduced the single motif full-line pattern "Iris", as a
Sterling Silver
Sold
H 1 in W 1 in D 1 in
Iris by Durgin Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 12 Service 143 Pieces Dinner
By Durgin Silver Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
Monumental Art Nouveau dinner and luncheon size Iris by Durgin Sterling silver flatware set, 143
Sterling Silver
Sold
H 12 in W 18 in D 18 in
Harlequin Mixed Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 10 Dinner Service 60 pc Ornate
Located in Big Bend, WI
- 5 3/4", 1 Place Soup Spoon - 7" Iris by Durgin: 1 Dinner Knife - 9 1/2", 1 Dinner Fork - 7 1/2", 1
Sterling Silver
$1,000,375
H 82.68 in Dm 76.78 in
Exceptional Crystal and Bronze Chandelier, L-A Marquis, France, C. 1860
By Maison Marquis
Located in PARIS, FR
This very important 96-lights chandelier made entirely in chiseled and gilded bronze in the Renaissance style, is composed at the lower part of six large sets of ten light-arms, ador...
Crystal, Bronze
$100,037
H 101.19 in W 137.8 in D 19.3 in
19th Century Walnut Pair of Bookcases Boiserie de Bibliothèque
Located in Vosselaar, BE
A rare pair of heliocodal French Directoire library bookcases in solid walnut. This type of bookcases is also known as 'boiseries de Bibliothèque' as they often, together with pannel...
Walnut
Extensive English Porcelain Dessert Service, circa 1825
Located in New York, NY
Pair of covered fruit coolers, pair of covered sauce tureens, pair of open work baskets, 1 compote, 4 kidney-shaped dishes, pair of square dishes, pair of oval dishes, 16 plates.
Porcelain
$68,500 / set
H 0.75 in Dm 10.75 in
Minton Mazarine Extensive Pristine Dinner Service Cobalt Blue & Gold 232 Pcs
By Minton
Located in Great Barrington, MA
It's always time to entertain! This is one of the most elegant and versatile patterns imaginable in a Classic and rare Minton cobalt blue pattern with raised paste gold on a white gr...
Porcelain
Steinway & Sons Concert Grand Piano
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
This extraordinary concert grand piano with 88 keys was made by the prestigious firm Steinway & Sons around 1894. The case's decoration was entrusted to the company Cuel & Cie and mo...
Wood, Giltwood
$976,800
H 15 in W 39 in D 34 in
Tiffany & Company, George Paulding Farnham, A Rare, Lavish Silver Centerpiece
By Tiffany & Co., Paulding Farnham.
Located in Long Island City, NY, NY
Tiffany & Company and George Paulding Farnham, A rare, lavish and monumental sterling silver centerpiece with original mirrored-glass sterling silver plateau, circa 1900. Museum...
Sterling Silver
$75,467 / set
H 27.37 in W 77.17 in D 36.03 in
Fine Important Restored Pair of Antique Howard & Sons Leather Chesterfield Sofas
By Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard and Sons
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare pair of original early Victorian Howard & Son’s Berners street cigar brown leather, fully restored Chesterfield bu...
Leather
$409,172
H 86.03 in Dm 51.97 in
Extremely Rare Victorian Chandelier of Exceptional Quality and Size by F&C Osler
By F. & C. Osler
Located in Steyning, West sussex
An extremely rare early Victorian 20-light cut-glass silvered mounted chandelier of exceptional quality the baluster thumb and radial cut shaft with lower shaft canopy and draping pa...
Silver Plate
$353,073
H 165.36 in W 290.56 in D 216.54 in
Louis XVI Style Panelling with Louis XVI Period Mantel and Trumeau
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Rare Napoleon III style paneled room in blackened wood (stained beech) with its fireplace in stucco in imitation of porphyry. The fireplace, which is the centerpiece of this paneled...
Bronze
$36,000
H 10 in Dm 13.75 in
Dinner Service, 86 Piece, Flow Blue and White, Classic Onion Meissen Pattern
By Meissen Porcelain
Located in Montreal, Quebec
86 piece dinner service with the marking: "Original ZWIEBELMUSTER, Czechoslovakia", in the Classic Blue Onion, Meissen Pattern, comprising: 24 dinner plates, 9.5" diameter 12...
Porcelain
$81,834
H 118.51 in W 103.15 in D 102.76 in
MONUMENTAL 3 METER EMPEROR ANTIQUE CiRCA 1880 CARVED ENGLISH BURR OAK TESTER BED
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely enormous 9 feet 9 inch tall Antique circa 1880-1900 hand carved English Burr Oak Emperor size Tester bed frame whi...
Oak
$34,130
H 90.95 in W 179.14 in D 224.41 in
Louis XVI Style Panelling with Fireplace and a Marine Scene, Oil on Canvas
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
This paneled room is composed of a stone fireplace, a large glass door with four leaves, a single door (both with their frame) and a large oil on canvas depicting a marine scene sign...
Stone
Incredible English Mahogany Seven-Pedestal Dining Table
Located in New Orleans, LA
Measuring over 30 feet in length, this tremendous and highly versatile English dining table is the greatest. It has the ability to transform to a multitude of sizes to fit any occasi...
Brass
$54,331 / set
H 0.1 in W 0.1 in D 0.1 in
Persian by Tiffany Sterling Silver Flatware Set of Service 92 Pieces
By Tiffany & Co., Edward C. Moore
Located in Big Bend, WI
Stunning Persian by Tiffany and Co. sterling silver flatware set of 92 pieces. This set includes: 12 Dinner knives, 9 1/4" 12 Dinner forks, 8" 12 Luncheon/dessert forks, 7 1/8" ...
Sterling Silver
$118,641 / set
H 12 in W 18 in D 18 in
Olympian by Tiffany and Co Sterling Silver Flatware Set 12 Service 252 Pc Dinner
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
The incredible multi-motif Olympian pattern, which was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1878, is the most elaborate and complex of all Tiffany flatware designs. Each piece of Olympian ...
Sterling Silver
$151,527
H 127.56 in W 208.67 in D 144.49 in
Art Nouveau paneling in Walnut with a wood Fireplace with Ceramic
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
This exceptional Art Nouveau style pine and burr paneled room is beautifully carved and decorated with blue-green ceramics. Panels with elegant curved and sober lines are covering th...
Ceramic, Wood, Walnut
While it isn’t always top of mind for some, antique and vintage tableware can enhance even the most informal meal. It has been an intimate part of how we’ve interacted with our food for millennia.
Tableware has played a basic but important role in everyday life. Ancient Egyptians used spoons (which are classified as flatware) made of ivory and wood, while Greeks and Romans, who gathered for banquets involving big meals and entertainment, ate with forks and knives. At the beginning of the 17th century, however, forks were still uncommon in American homes. Over time, tableware has thankfully evolved and today includes increasingly valuable implements.
Tableware refers to the tools people use to set the table, including serving pieces, dinner plates and more. It encompasses everything from the intricate and elaborate to the austere and functional, yet are all what industrial product designer Jasper Morrison might call “Super Normal” — anonymous objects that are too useful to be considered banal.
There are four general categories of tableware — serveware, dinnerware, drinkware and, lastly, flatware, which is commonly referred to as silverware or cutlery. Serveware includes serving bowls, platters, gravy boats, casserole pans and ladles. Most tableware is practical, but it can also be decorative. And decorative objects count as tableware too. Even though they don’t fit squarely into one of the four categories, vases, statues and floral arrangements are traditional centerpieces.
Drinkware appropriately refers to the vessels we use for our beverages — mugs, cups and glasses. There is a good deal of variety that falls under this broad term. For example, your cheerful home bar or mid-century modern bar cart might be outfitted with a full range of vintage barware, which might include pilsner glasses and tumblers. Specialty cocktails are often served in these custom glasses, but they’re still a type of drinkware.
Every meal should be special — even if you’re using earthenware or stoneware for a casual lunch — but perhaps you’re hosting a dinner party to mark a specific event. The right high-quality tableware can bring a touch of luxury to your cuisine. Young couples, for example, traditionally add “fine china,” or porcelain, to their wedding registry as a commemoration of their union and likely wouldn’t turn down exquisite silver made by Tiffany & Co. or Georg Jensen.
It’s important to remember, however, that when you’re setting the dining room table to have fun with it. Just as you might mix and match your dining chairs, don’t be afraid to mix new and old or high and low with your tableware. On 1stDibs, find an extraordinary range of vintage and antique tableware to help elevate your meal as well as the mood and atmosphere of your entire dining room.