Alessi 9093
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century German Scandinavian Modern Tea Sets
Chrome
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Mid-20th Century Micronesian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass
Late 20th Century Taiwanese Modern Serving Pieces
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Post-Modern Tableware
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1940s Tea Sets
Metal, Brass
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
1990s Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
Antique Late 19th Century English Aesthetic Movement Tea Sets
Pottery
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Italian Wall Mirrors
Wrought Iron, Gold Leaf
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s Maltese Modern Vases
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Danish Art Deco Decorative Bowls
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Other Sheffield and Silverplate
Silver Plate
Recent Sales
1990s Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Enamel, Steel
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Tea Sets
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Wall Clocks
Plastic
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Steel, Enamel
Finding the Right tea-sets for You
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.