Tea Sets
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Copper
1980s American Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1960s American Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
1910s English Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1820s English Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1820s English George IV Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Marble
Early 20th Century French Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Marble
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass, Silver
1920s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Gold
Early 20th Century Russian Tea Sets
Silver
1960s French Neoclassical Revival Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
17th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Silver
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1920s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Queen Anne Tea Sets
Silver
2010s Spanish Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century English Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Spanish Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Korean Organic Modern Tea Sets
Marble
19th Century British Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Enamel
Mid-20th Century Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Pottery
19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Glass
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1980s Italian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
19th Century English Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1910s German Jugendstil Vintage Tea Sets
Tin
1960s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Glass
18th Century English George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Danish Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Other
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Tea Sets
Ceramic
19th Century English George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Tea Sets
Opaline Glass
19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver
1930s Chinese Vintage Tea Sets
1880s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Marble
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Marble
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Marble
2010s Italian International Style Tea Sets
Porcelain
1910s English George II Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
2010s Polish Post-Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s Spanish Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
17th Century Antique Tea Sets
Copper
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Sterling 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.