Tea Sets
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Revival Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Japanese Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain, Paint
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic, Ironstone
Mid-20th Century Norwegian Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic, Stoneware
1960s English Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 18th Century British Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Enamel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Brass
20th Century Russian Baltic Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s French Rustic Vintage Tea Sets
Sheet Metal
1880s Japanese Japonisme Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Bronze
Early 20th Century German Tea Sets
Brass
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century English Arts and Crafts Tea Sets
Pewter
Early 20th Century British Art Deco Tea Sets
Metal, Silver, Silver Plate, Sterling Silver, Sheet Metal
Early 20th Century Unknown Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s English Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century English George III Antique Tea Sets
Copper
1820s English George IV Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Japanese Meiji Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Metal, Enamel, Iron
Mid-20th Century Mexican Spanish Colonial Tea Sets
Brass
20th Century Japanese Post-Modern Tea Sets
Metal
1770s English Rococo Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Unknown Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1910s Swedish Art Nouveau Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1880s English Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1940s American Arts and Crafts Vintage Tea Sets
Bronze
Early 20th Century German Aesthetic Movement Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
1890s Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century British Victorian Tea Sets
Ceramic
1820s Welsh George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Other
1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Faience
19th Century Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Antique Tea Sets
Enamel, Copper
20th Century English Tea Sets
Silver
20th Century British Modern Tea Sets
Pottery
1930s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century European Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1980s European Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic, Porcelain
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1940s Danish Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Pewter
Early 1900s European Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
17th Century Edo Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s German Bauhaus Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1860s English Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
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.