The first silver tea set was created in 1790, almost 100 years after the first known silver tea pot was created. That first silver tea pot is now in a London museum and is much smaller than what we think of as a tea pot today, because tea used to be quite an expensive luxury. The era of King George II saw teapots larger, thanks to the public’s growing taste for tea. With tea’s popularity came public demand for teapots, and manufacturers created them, often making each one much more than a vessel for tea, but almost as a work of art.

A silver tea set will at minimum have a tea pot, a creamer pot and a sugar bowl. It also might come on a silver tray or a tray made of another material, usually with at least a silver edge, designed to carry the service from room to room. In England, during Queen Anne’s rule, sugar and milk were used in tea for the first time, so the first silver sugar baskets and creamers were introduced. These were created originally with rounded feet, and later were designed to match the tea pots they accompanied.

A silver tea set from the mid 19th century might have 6 pieces—a kettle, waste bowl and even a coffee post, in addition to the creamer, sugar bowl and tea pot. Because Queen Victoria loved her afternoon teas, those who worked in silver at the time sought to produce beautiful tea services, befitting a queen. So services from this era are some of the most collectible today.
Silver has its own value, no matter what form it’s in, so almost every silver tea set carries a good value based on that alone. The manufacturer and the age of the service, and whether or not it’s complete and has been cleaned, also affects the value and collectability. Silver collectibles, including tea services, shouldn’t be cleaned in such a way that the silver’s patina is stripped away—this drops the value drastically.

But the silver does need to be cleaned so that it doesn’t tarnish. A tarnished silver piece has to be aggressively cleaned and buffed to restore it to its original beauty and this buffing will remove patina and make the pieces worth less, and could even render it almost worthless as a collectible. You should clean a silver tea set with a soft cloth and silver paste or polish, and do it by hand, as gently as possible.

When shopping for a silver tea set, ask the seller many questions about the manufacturer, the age, and whether or not the silver has scratches or abrasions. Asking about how the silver has been maintained and cleaned is important, too. If you want to collect silver tea services, read a little about silver manufacturers during the 18th and 19th century so you’re aware of the more valuable and collectible items, and can judge whether a price is fair, and whether or not you want to own the set.

Originally posted 2008-12-08 14:00:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Antiques and Collectibles At the thought of collectible home décor, one can easily conjure up a number of images, including images of memorabilia, art deco paintings and accents, cartoons, games, toys, videos, calendars, comics, clothing, posters, accessories and a wide variety of other antiques and collectibles that can be used as décor within......
• Avon Collectibles Collectibles -> Decorative Collectibles -> Decorative Collectible Brands-> Avon The Avon Company has been a respected institution in the United States since 1886, and their line of decorative collectibles contain some of the most sought after pieces on record. The company first began producing Avon collectibles in the mid-1960’s and......
• Venetian Beads Collectables -> Collectibles -> Beads Venetian beads are a special kind of bead imported from areas of Venice and Murano. These beads are often called Murano glass beads. The special glass used to make these beads is manufactured on the island of Murano, and the beads themselves are handmade. This......
• Tapestries Collectibles -> Linens, Fabric & Textiles -> Tapestries Tapestries are more than just beautiful wall hangings, they're woven art that served to tell stories in ancient times. The Odyssey and the Iliad were both “told” in woven form as large, rich tapestries. Every period in history has had major events......
• Cairn Terrier Collectibles Collectibles -> Animals -> Dog-> Cairn Terrier For those that love this intrepid breed, cairn terrier collectibles are a wonderful expression of their devotion. Whether you are shopping for yourself, or you need a gift for a lover of this breed, there are countless types of cairn terrier collectibles that......

• How is Antique Pricing Figured? There are a variety of different ways that you can collect antiques, and one of the most important considerations in the antique collecting arena is antique pricing. Understanding how antique pricing is figured out is an important part of collecting antiques because it will influence how you purchase antiques and......
• Online Antiques Auctions According purely to definition, antiques are described as being any object that has a collectible value and that is more than 100 years in age. There are a number of different antiques auction websites that are designed to sell these types of antique items online. Some of these websites specialize......
• Greenwash Of The Week: ACCCE's Obama/Clean Coal Ads. In case you did not know, the ACCCE stands for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. These are the people who keep running ads about how great "clean coal" is, and how it's going to create millions of "green" jobs. (Great video of the clean coal myth here) They......
• Restoring Antique Books Maintaining the integrity of old books that are considered to be archives, historic or heirlooms can be a challenging task given the wide variety of elements and types of situations that are capable of causing damage to them. Fire, water, mold and smoke are all elements and situations that are......
• Clarinet Guide Part 2 The keyword on a clarinet is either played using silver or nickel. On a rare occasion, gold may be used for the key work on the clarinet. Nickel plating is durable, and it does not tarnish near as easily as silver. Nickel plating is also preferred in many occasions because......

• United Kingdom Non-U.S. Silver Silver Antiques
• Mexico Non-U.S. Silver Silver Antiques
• Non-U.S. Silver Silver Antiques
• Coin Silver Silver Antiques
• Mid-Century Modernism Periods, Styles Antiques