Tea Sets
1820s English Regency Antique Tea Sets
Brass
1890s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 20th Century English Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Pewter
Mid-20th Century Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1760s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 19th Century English Chinoiserie Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Moroccan Islamic Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Mid-18th Century English Rococo Antique Tea Sets
Sheffield Plate
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century French Louis XV Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century German Tea Sets
Porcelain
1740s German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1930s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century French Tea Sets
Silver
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
1920s German Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century British Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1950s British Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century Rustic Tea Sets
Copper
Late 19th Century English Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Pottery
2010s Argentine Organic Modern Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century Polish Tea Sets
Enamel
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Copper
1970s French Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1980s English Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Polish Tea Sets
Enamel
19th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
19th Century German Antique Tea Sets
Gold Plate, Silver, Enamel
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Tea Sets
Brass
19th Century English Renaissance Revival Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1890s French Louis XVI Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
20th Century Persian Tea Sets
Silver
Early 20th Century Unknown Regency Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century French Tea Sets
Metal
1870s French Louis XVI Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century French Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century Indian Moorish Antique Tea Sets
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Victorian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1820s English Rococo Revival Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Art Nouveau Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Stone, Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Tea Sets
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Neoclassical Tea Sets
Metal, Gold Plate
1880s English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, 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.