Tea Sets
1910s German Art Nouveau Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1870s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
18th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century German Tea Sets
Metal, Enamel, Tin
Early 20th Century English Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1970s German Vintage Tea Sets
Bone
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Edwardian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
17th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tea Sets
Porcelain
1880s English Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
20th Century Tea Sets
Silver
1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Tea Sets
Ceramic
17th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s English Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
18th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Gold
18th Century Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 19th Century Austrian Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Italian Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
20th Century English Edwardian Tea Sets
Pottery
2010s American Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1950s Italian Empire Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Stoneware
Early 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1790s British George III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Tea Sets
Gold
19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Danish Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Metal, Sterling Silver, Silver
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Stoneware
Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century Russian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Enamel
Mid-20th Century French Empire Tea Sets
Gold Leaf
1780s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 20th Century British Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century Unknown Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
1870s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Majolica
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
1780s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Japanese Tea Sets
Silver
19th Century Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1710s Dutch Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
17th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century Antique Tea Sets
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Meiji Tea Sets
Gold
1960s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic, Paint
1810s Chinese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
18th Century Japanese Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Empire Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1790s Italian Empire 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.