Tea Sets
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-18th Century Dutch Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century French Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century American Georgian Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Islamic Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Mother-of-Pearl, Rosewood
1770s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass, Stainless Steel
1720s Vietnamese Qing Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic, Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic, Stoneware
Early 20th Century German Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Asian Chinese Export Tea Sets
Porcelain, Wicker
1830s English Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Mid-19th Century British Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Tea Sets
Silver
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Porcelain
1860s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1790s Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1980s German Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1970s Korean Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1950s British Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1980s Italian Renaissance Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1880s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver, Silver
Mid-20th Century German Tea Sets
Ceramic, Porcelain
1810s American Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Other
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Gold
Early 20th Century French Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1800s Dutch Antique Tea Sets
Silver
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 1900s European Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1800s Danish Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1750s Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Art Deco Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
19th Century American High Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic, Paint
Late 19th Century British Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic
1880s Italian Other Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Gold
Mid-20th Century English Japonisme Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Minimalist Tea Sets
Stoneware
1870s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1910s French Renaissance Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1890s Antique Tea Sets
Gold Plate, Silver, Enamel
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
1990s Italian Queen Anne Tea Sets
Silver
1750s English Rococo Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1980s British Georgian Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1890s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern 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.