Tea Sets
Early 20th Century American Edwardian Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century English Victorian Tea Sets
Ceramic
1970s Italian Other Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century Dutch Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Sterling Silver
1920s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century Austrian Napoleon III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
19th Century English William IV Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century North American Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century English Country Tea Sets
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century American Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s Italian Futurist Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic, Stoneware
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Mid-19th Century English Rococo Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Copper
1790s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Czech Art Deco Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century English Neoclassical Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century German Post-Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1860s British Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century European Tea Sets
Brass
17th Century Chinese Qing Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Porcelain
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1980s Japanese Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1930s German Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Tea Sets
Ceramic
1940s Vintage Tea Sets
Metal, Brass
18th Century Scottish Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1980s Italian Baroque Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1850s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
20th Century German Post-Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1930s Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s North American Queen Anne Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1890s English Queen Anne Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver, Silver
1990s German Post-Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
20th Century Hungarian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1980s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1790s French Louis XVI Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Modern Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s English George I Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century English Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century European Tea Sets
Gold
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Queen Anne Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Hungarian Tea Sets
Gold
1930s French Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s Dutch Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Pewter
Early 20th Century English Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Pewter
Late 19th Century British Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Aluminum
2010s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Tea Sets
Gold Plate
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.