Tea Sets
Late 20th Century Hungarian Queen Anne Tea Sets
Porcelain
1990s Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 20th Century British Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century Polish Tea Sets
Glass, Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Regency Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s French Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1950s American Vintage Tea Sets
Pewter
1990s Tea Sets
Metal
Early 20th Century Indian Tea Sets
Silver
1970s German Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1920s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Silver
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Silver
1920s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Polish Tea Sets
Enamel
Early 20th Century American Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1950s English Edwardian Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Tea Sets
Glass
20th Century American Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1910s English British Colonial Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Steel
1930s Czech Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century British Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 1900s French Rustic Antique Tea Sets
Faience
Mid-20th Century Hungarian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1970s Japanese Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century American Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1920s Japanese Vintage Tea Sets
Gold
Early 1900s Austrian Bauhaus Antique Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
Mid-20th Century Regency Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Swedish Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Russian Empire Tea Sets
Brass
1970s Japanese Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s English Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1930s American Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Rustic Tea Sets
Copper
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1980s French French Provincial Vintage Tea Sets
Faience
1990s English Organic Modern Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1930s English Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Polish Tea Sets
Glass
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1980s French Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s French Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique, New and Vintage Tea Sets
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.