Tea Sets
2010s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Glass, Leather
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
1950s English Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Sets
Silver Plate
19th Century French Louis Philippe Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s English George II Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
19th Century North American Antique Tea Sets
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Pottery
1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
1940s Angolan Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
2010s Italian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Canadian Colonial Revival Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1820s British Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1880s French Restauration Antique Tea Sets
Gold
1860s French Napoleon III Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century English Art Deco Tea Sets
Ceramic
1730s English George II Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Tea Sets
Ceramic
1890s Indian Antique Tea Sets
Silver
1970s Italian Vintage Tea Sets
Metal
Mid-19th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1950s Vintage Tea Sets
Wood, Parchment Paper
Early 20th Century British Edwardian Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1960s Italian Renaissance Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Brass
1950s German Vintage Tea Sets
Copper
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver
20th Century Japanese Meiji Tea Sets
Silver
1830s Finnish Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Tea Sets
Silver Plate
Late 20th Century Organic Modern Tea Sets
Pottery
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Meiji Tea Sets
Gold
Late 18th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Antique Tea Sets
Silver
Mid-20th Century American Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Silver Plate
1850s English Gothic Revival Antique Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Egyptian Tea Sets
Silver
1970s Russian Vintage Tea Sets
Silver, Enamel
Mid-20th Century American Georgian Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Classical Roman Tea Sets
Gold
Mid-20th Century American Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Silver Plate, Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Meiji Tea Sets
Porcelain
1820s Welsh Regency Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
20th Century Tea Sets
Enamel
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Ceramic
1890s Belgian Regency Antique Tea Sets
Silver
19th Century French Antique Tea Sets
Porcelain
1920s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Sterling Silver
1980s Mexican Modern Vintage Tea Sets
Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Silver Plate
20th Century English Tea Sets
Pottery
1930s English Art Deco Vintage Tea Sets
Silver Plate
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.