Tableware
20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
1810s English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary French Baroque Tableware
Crystal
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Porcelain
Early 1800s British Regency Antique Tableware
Metal
20th Century English Baroque Tableware
Ceramic, Porcelain
1960s German Baroque Vintage Tableware
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Italian Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Baroque Tableware
Murano Glass
19th Century Italian Baroque Antique Tableware
Crystal, Silver
Early 20th Century Baroque Tableware
Silver
1870s Scottish Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Regency Tableware
Silver Plate
1940s German Baroque Vintage Tableware
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Regency Antique Tableware
Silver Plate
19th Century Regency Antique Tableware
Crystal, Bronze
Late 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Wood
20th Century German Baroque Tableware
Porcelain
2010s Italian Baroque Tableware
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
1810s English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Regency Tableware
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Regency Tableware
Silver Plate
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Porcelain
20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
1810s English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
1820s English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
1830s British Regency Antique Tableware
Mahogany
20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Regency Tableware
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century Regency Tableware
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Regency Tableware
Silver Plate
20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
20th Century Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Baroque Tableware
Ceramic
1830s English Regency Antique Tableware
Agate, Sterling Silver
1960s Baroque Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
1960s Baroque Vintage Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 18th Century Dutch Baroque Antique Tableware
Ceramic, Faience
Mid-19th Century Italian Baroque Antique Tableware
Porcelain
1820s English Regency Antique Tableware
Glass
Early 1800s English Regency Antique Tableware
Silver, Sterling Silver
Mid-18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Tableware
Porcelain
Mid-18th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Pearlware
Early 20th Century French Baroque Tableware
Sterling Silver, Brass
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Pearlware
Mid-19th Century Italian Baroque Antique Tableware
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Italian Baroque Tableware
Silver
Mid-19th Century Italian Baroque Antique Tableware
Silver
1820s English Regency Antique Tableware
Pottery
Late 18th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s French Baroque Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Baroque Tableware
Silver
1810s English Regency Antique Tableware
Sterling Silver
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tableware
Crystal, Bronze
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.