Tea Sets
1860s British Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1930s European Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century British Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Malaysian Modern Tea Sets
Gold
Early 19th Century English William IV Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American American Colonial Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1790s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1910s English Neoclassical Revival Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Plastic, Leather
1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Canadian Colonial Revival Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1700s Dutch Queen Anne Antique Tea Sets
Delft, Faience
Early 20th Century Tea Sets
Silver, Silver Plate
1990s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s Vintage Tea Sets
Wood, Parchment Paper
1770s English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Creamware, Pottery
2010s Italian Belle Époque Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Dutch Art Deco Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s British Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Gold
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1820s Welsh Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1860s French Napoleon III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Tea Sets
Silver
1960s Finnish Vintage Tea Sets
1930s Unknown Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Malaysian Modern Tea Sets
Gold
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Asian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Clay
1960s German Other Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1770s Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Art Deco Tea Sets
Pottery
1820s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Silver, Silver Plate
1920s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century English George III Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1800s Dutch Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1810s British Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Tea Sets
Porcelain
1910s English Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-19th Century British Rococo Antique 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.