$19,946 / set
H 0.1 in W 0.1 in D 0.1 in
Lafayette Engraved by Towle Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service 110 Pieces
By Towle Silversmiths
Located in Big Bend, WI
Beautiful Lafayette Engraved by Towle sterling silver flatware set of 110 pieces. This pattern has
Sterling Silver
Sold
H 1 in W 1 in D 1 in
Lafayette by Towle Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 8 Service 96 Pieces Dinner
By Towle Silversmiths
Located in Big Bend, WI
Timeless and unadorned dinner size Lafayette by Towle sterling silver flatware set, 96 pieces. This
Sterling Silver
Sold
H 1 in W 1 in D 1 in
Lafayette by Towle Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 12 Service 133 Pc New Unused
By Towle Silversmiths
Located in Big Bend, WI
Superb unused Lafayette by Towle sterling silver flatware set, 133 pieces. This classic, timeless
Sterling Silver
Lafayette by Towle Sterling Silver Flatware Set for Eight Service 52 Pieces
By Towle Silversmiths
Located in Big Bend, WI
Lafayette by Towle sterling silver flatware set of 52 pieces. This set includes: Eight knives, 8 3
Sterling Silver
Limoges Porcelain Tableware, 56 Pieces
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Beautiful Limoges porcelain tableware with floral decoration and gilding comprising 56 pieces: 24 flat plates, 10 small plates, 12 soup plates, one soup tureen or vegetable dish , on...
Porcelain
$9,868 / set
H 1 in W 1 in D 1 in
Royal Danish by International Sterling Silver Flatware Service Set 62 Pcs Dinner
By International Silver
Located in Big Bend, WI
Royal Danish by International dinner size sterling silver flatware set, 62 pieces. This set includes: 12 dinner knives, 9 3/4", 12 dinner forks, 7 3/4", 12 salad forks, 6 3/8", ...
Sterling Silver
$7,972 / set
H 0.1 in W 0.1 in D 0.1 in
Fontana by Towle Sterling Silver Flatware Service for 8 Set 48 Pcs Dinner Size
By Towle Silversmiths
Located in Big Bend, WI
Fontana by Towle sterling silver dinner size flatware set - 48 pieces. This set includes: eight dinner size knives, 9 3/4", eight dinner size forks, 7 5/8", eight salad forks, 6 ...
Sterling Silver
$7,895Sale Price / set|39% Off
H 32 in W 16 in D 16 in
Fine Pair of 19th Century Ormolu-Mounted Chinese Porcelain Vases Oil Lamps
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine pair of Chinese Export, 19th century porcelain bottle vases mounted with French ormolu as oil lamps. The well potted ovoid light pale-green porcelain pear-shaped body decorate...
Ormolu
19th Century French Ormolu and Crystal Drinks Set
Located in London, GB
A drinks set of the Napoleon III Period The ormolu rectangular frame, rising from swept feet, with a running arcaded gallery, fitted with a mirror plate base houses a suite of fou...
Crystal, Ormolu
$1,800
H 9 in W 11.75 in D 9.5 in
Antique KPM Royal Berlin Porcelain Hand-Painted Tureen with Cornucopia & Cherub
By KPM Porcelain
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique KPM porcelain tureen with flower encrusted handles, Deutsche Blumen floral sprays, and a figural cherub and cornucopia finial. The base bears a blue underglaze fac...
Porcelain
Unique Georgian Sterling Tureen, c1802
By John Roberts & Co
Located in Litchfield, CT
Circa 1802, sterling, John Roberts & Co., Sheffield, England. This very unusual tureen consists of the main tureen with an inserted vegetable dish, which is the uncommon part. Al...
Sterling Silver
Set of 12 Coalport Cobalt Blue & French Enamel Dinner Plates
By Coalport Porcelain
Located in Great Barrington, MA
A beautiful set of 12 Coalport dinner plates with subtly shaped rims and acid-etched gold borders. The distinctive deep blue enamel ground is contrasted with white "French Enamel" e...
Paste, Porcelain
Set of twenty four blue and white floral porcelain dinner plates
Located in London, GB
Set of twenty four blue and white floral porcelain dinner plates Continental, 19th Century Height 2.5cm, diameter 23.5cm These blue and white porcelain dinner plates will make an ex...
Porcelain
$10,368 / set
H 4.73 in Dm 9.45 in
Antique English Sixteen-Piece Dessert Service by Royal Crown Derby Porcelain
By Royal Crown Derby Porcelain
Located in London, GB
This splendid antique dessert service is impressive both for its beautiful design and its prestigious maker, Royal Crown Derby Porcelain, which was appointed the official royal porce...
Porcelain
$50,000 / set
H 22 in Dm 10.5 in
Pair of Late 19th Century French Gilt Bronze Mounted Chinese Porcelain Lamps
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Nice Quality Pair of Late 19th Century French Gilt Bronze Mounted Chinese Porcelain Lamps Fine bronze mounts separate the six painted panels decorated with chinoiserie figures in ...
Bronze, Ormolu
$36,000 / set
H 19.25 in Dm 12 in
Minton 19th C Gilt Dessert Service 15 Pc. W/ Parian Figures Hand Painted Roses
By Minton
Located in Great Barrington, MA
Beyond belief! This set is museum worthy, exhibiting some of the finest workmanship Minton produced. The centerpiece features an exquisite pierced tall basket lifted up by 3 tall Par...
Porcelain
$4,350 / set
H 1 in W 1 in D 1 in
La Scala by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service 24 Pieces Dinner Size
By Gorham Manufacturing Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
La Scala by Gorham sterling silver flatware set, 24 pieces. Great starter set! This set includes: Six dinner size knives, 9 3/4", six dinner size forks, 8", six salad forks, 6 3/...
Sterling Silver
$265
H 6 in W 12 in D 10 in
Neocolonialist Revival Silver Plated Tureen W/ Scalloped Edges & Baroque Detail
Located in New York, NY
This stately sterling silver plated tureen features a reeded handle, scalloped edges with Baroque details, including fleur de lys throughout. The lid features a reeded ovular handle ...
Silver Plate
Royal Crown Derby "Imari" 16 Pc Dessert Service with Gold
By Royal Crown Derby Porcelain
Located in Great Barrington, MA
An unusually decorated custom ordered dessert service embellished with an Art Nouveau style raised paste gold monogram on a undulating shaped rim plate. The set consists of 10 desse...
Porcelain, Paste
$8,858 / set
H 1 in W 1 in D 1 in
Sir Christopher by Wallace Sterling Silver Flatware Set 12 Service 56 Pcs Dinner
By Wallace Silversmiths
Located in Big Bend, WI
Dinner Size Sir Christopher by Wallace sterling silver flatware set of 56 pieces. This set includes: 12 dinner size knives, 9 3/4", 12 dinner size forks, 7 3/4", 12 salad forks, ...
Sterling Silver
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.