Tea Sets
Early 1900s French Art Deco Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Bronze
Early 1900s British Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s American Japonisme Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s American Aesthetic Movement Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Pewter
Early 1900s Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Glass
Early 1900s Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s German Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s European Empire Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s French Rustic Antique Tea Sets
Faience
Early 1900s English Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s Austrian Bauhaus Antique Tea Sets
Brass, Copper
Early 1900s French Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 1900s German Art Deco Antique Tea Sets
Bronze
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s French Rustic Antique Tea Sets
Faience
Early 1900s Dutch Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s English Queen Anne Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 1900s British Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s European Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s North American Queen Anne Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Belgian Neoclassical Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s American Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s European Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s Great Britain (UK) Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s British Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Early 1900s English Gothic Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Pewter
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s American Edwardian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s Northern Irish Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Great Britain (UK) Queen Anne Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s European Art Nouveau Antique Tea Sets
Brass
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique 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.