Tea Sets
1860s English Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1910s English Art Nouveau Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1970s Mexican Hollywood Regency Vintage Tea Sets
Brass
19th Century European Antique Tea Sets
Pewter
1910s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century English Post-Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French French Provincial Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Ceramic
20th Century Tea Sets
Clay
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Other
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Brass
20th Century Edwardian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware, Cane
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 20th Century French Tea Sets
Copper
Early 20th Century European Rustic Tea Sets
Iron
19th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century English Georgian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1760s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Terracotta
Early 1800s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century European Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Enamel
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century English Tea Sets
Pewter
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Organic Modern Tea Sets
Pottery
19th Century Unknown Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vienna Secession Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
1850s English Other Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
19th Century Asian Qing Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1970s Japanese Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century English Japonisme Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Other
Early 20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century English Art Deco Tea Sets
Ceramic
Late 19th Century British Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 18th Century English Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century English William IV Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
17th Century Japanese Edo Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
17th Century Japanese Edo Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century Unknown Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Danish Art Deco Tea Sets
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.