Tea Sets
19th Century Dutch Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Copper
1930s Unknown Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century American Georgian Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Persian Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century Russian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1990s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Silver
Early 19th Century American Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1910s German Jugendstil Vintage Tea Sets
Brass
18th Century Japanese Edo Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American American Colonial Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Modern Tea Sets
Metal, Stainless Steel
17th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Tea Sets
Metal
1810s French Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver
18th Century English George II Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Danish Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
1850s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century French Louis XVI Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s German Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1980s German Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware
1810s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Brass, Enamel
Late 19th Century European Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
20th Century British Queen Anne Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Japanese Meiji Tea Sets
Bronze, Iron
19th Century German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Tea Sets
Vermeil, Sterling Silver
1880s English Japonisme Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1850s Irish Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
1770s Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-18th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
19th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 19th Century French Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain, Paint
1890s Indian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
18th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s English George I Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Queen Anne Tea Sets
Silver
1880s Italian Empire Antique Tea Sets
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
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.