Tea Sets
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Neoclassical Tea Sets
Metal, Gold Plate
Mid-20th Century Russian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American American Colonial Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1810s English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1870s Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century European Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century Unknown Regency Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1960s British Vintage Tea Sets
Bone
Early 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Neoclassical Tea Sets
Metal, Gold Plate
19th Century German Antique Tea Sets
Gold Plate, Silver, Enamel
Early 20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Late 19th Century German Empire Antique Tea Sets
Gold
Early 20th Century Unknown Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1820s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century English Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Pottery
Early 20th Century Japanese Japonisme Tea Sets
Gold
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Moroccan Moorish Tea Sets
Metal, Silver Plate
1980s Spanish Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic, Paint
1870s Antique Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Stone, Silver Plate
1920s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s American Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
20th Century American Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Ceramic
17th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Copper
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century French Islamic Tea Sets
Silver Plate
19th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1770s English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Creamware, Pottery
1950s Japanese Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Tea Sets
Metal, Silver Plate, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
18th Century British George III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
18th Century Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1890s German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Metal, Silver Plate
Early 20th Century German Jugendstil Tea Sets
Metal
1930s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1840s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s American Vintage Tea Sets
Pewter
1920s American Rococo Revival Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Late Victorian Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
19th Century American Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Nickel
Early 19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Pewter
20th Century French Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Enamel
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Pottery
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver Plate
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.