Tea Sets
2010s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
Early 20th Century English Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Stoneware
Mid-19th Century English Rococo Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Copper
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s English George I Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1950s German Neoclassical Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century European Tea Sets
Silver
1980s German Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 18th Century Great Britain (UK) George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century German Empire Revival Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century French Rustic Antique Tea Sets
Pottery
Early 1900s European Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1950s Vintage Tea Sets
Wood, Parchment Paper
20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Norwegian Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Ceramic
Late 19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Brass
1980s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 19th Century English Early Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Pearlware
1960s Italian Renaissance Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
20th Century Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Gold Plate, Brass
20th Century Italian Tea Sets
Silver
1830s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century Polish Other Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Brass
Late 19th Century British Hepplewhite Antique Tea Sets
Pewter
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1890s Indian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Brass
20th Century Tea Sets
Enamel
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Other
Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century British Egyptian Revival Antique Tea Sets
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Italian Tea Sets
Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1980s German Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Creamware
1850s English Baroque Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century English Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Copper
1960s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-19th Century Scottish Antique 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.