Tableware
1930s British Vintage Tableware
Porcelain
1950s Danish Vintage Tableware
Porcelain
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tableware
Brass, Silver Plate
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Tableware
Porcelain
1960s American American Classical Vintage Tableware
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tableware
Brass
1940s American Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
2010s Spanish Brutalist Tableware
Aluminum, Brass
Late 20th Century French Tableware
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1830s Austrian Neoclassical Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver, Steel
20th Century German Hollywood Regency Tableware
Porcelain
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tableware
Silver Plate, Metal
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Tableware
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Tableware
Other
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s American Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
1930s American Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Tableware
Linen
Mid-20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tableware
Porcelain
1950s American Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Tableware
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Country Tableware
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Tableware
Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Tableware
Wood
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tableware
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Other Tableware
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American Renaissance Revival Tableware
Sterling Silver
1870s English Victorian Antique Tableware
Copper
20th Century English Tableware
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Tableware
Teak, Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tableware
Ceramic
2010s Italian Tableware
Linen
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
19th Century Dutch Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
1930s Renaissance Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tableware
Plastic
Late 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tableware
Cotton
20th Century Luxembourgish Mid-Century Modern Tableware
Porcelain
Mid-19th Century French Art Deco Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
2010s Tableware
Travertine
Late 20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century English Tableware
Silver Plate
Early 19th Century Chinese Antique Tableware
Porcelain
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1920s British Vintage Tableware
Silver, Sterling Silver
1980s American Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
20th Century American Other Tableware
Sterling Silver
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1890s English Victorian Antique Tableware
Gold
20th Century Tableware
Sterling Silver
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tableware
Brass
Antique and Vintage Tableware
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.
Read More
Paul Revere Crafted This Silver Coffee Pot 250 Years Ago
Perhaps best known as a Revolutionary War hero, Revere was also an accomplished silversmith, and this pot is now available on 1stDibs.
From Arne Jacobsen to Zaha Hadid, Top Designers Tackle Tableware
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