Tea Sets
Mid-19th Century German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1860s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1790s English Neoclassical Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Clay
1930s French Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
20th Century English Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
18th Century Chinese Qing Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1830s French Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Enamel
19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s Finnish Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware
Early 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s British Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
1930s Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
2010s Italian Belle Époque Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s Italian Baroque Tea Sets
Ceramic
1890s French Louis XVI Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
20th Century North American Post-Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tea Sets
Glass
Late 19th Century Italian Rustic Antique Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
20th Century Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Earthenware
1980s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 19th Century Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Pottery
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1930s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Pottery
Early 19th Century English George III Antique Tea Sets
Copper
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1970s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Chinoiserie Tea Sets
Porcelain
1880s English Japonisme Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1930s Swedish Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s Austrian Bauhaus Antique Tea Sets
Copper, Brass
1890s English Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century American Edwardian Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tea Sets
Jade
Late 19th Century American Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Silver Plate, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Chilean Colonial Revival Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Japanese Post-Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Terracotta
1760s English George III Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 18th Century Great Britain (UK) George III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Earthenware, Porcelain
1840s English Rococo Revival Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Meiji Tea Sets
Gold
Early 19th Century English Neoclassical Revival Antique Tea Sets
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century British Victorian Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1910s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
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.