Grand Tour Furniture
For 18th-century young British noblemen, no education was complete without a year on the Grand Tour. Although it had no official route, the Grand Tour focused on places foundational to European art, literature and architecture, including sites in France, Germany, Switzerland and, most importantly, Italy. It was an opportunity not just to witness the roots of the classics they had studied but also to take some of it home. Grand Tour furniture was among the souvenirs.
Grand Tour furniture ranged from marble architectural models replicating ancient wonders to actual antiquities often taken illicitly, leaving a legacy of looting still being unraveled today. Other items reflected the artistic richness of the Renaissance cities and other destinations. In Italy, this included scagliola tables and pedestals mimicking marble as well as tabletops and wall panels embedded with pietra dura hard stone mosaics.
Furniture was also developed to display Grand Tour purchases in the owner’s home, presenting them as a cultivated and well-traveled person. Mahogany collector’s cabinets held objects like intaglio moldings of coins and seals while others had specialized drawers that framed pietra dura panels.
Many objects were specifically produced for Grand Tour collectors. Often accompanied by retinues on journeys lasting months or years, the elite travelers, the wealthiest of whom extended their trips to Egypt and the Holy Land, required artful personal mementos befitting the experience. For example, Grand Tour micromosaics — small artworks, most not more than two inches wide — arose from the entrepreneurial impulses of artisans who had trained in the Vatican’s workshops.
Grand Tour journeys would help inform a range of decorative styles such as neoclassical, Rococo and Adam style. (Architect and designer Robert Adam toured Italy and France for five years.) The Grand Tour flourished at a time of economic prosperity and political stability, but the French Revolution in 1789 brought it to an end. Yet as the tradition faded in popularity in England, the rising wealth of the United States led to an increase in tourism across the Atlantic and a similar passion for collecting to show one’s worldliness.
Find a collection of Grand Tour decorative objects, wall decorations, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
2010s European Grand Tour Furniture
Paper
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Silver
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze, Ormolu
1860s French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Metal
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Belgian Black Marble
18th Century British Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Gold Leaf
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Grand Tour Furniture
Malachite, Marble
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Silver Plate
Late 19th Century Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Paint
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Metal
Early 2000s German Grand Tour Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Scagliola
Late 19th Century Egyptian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Alabaster
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Wood, Paper
1830s English Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Silk, Glass, Paint, Paper
20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Resin, Fiberglass, Wood, Lacquer
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Statuary Marble
Mid-19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble
Early 20th Century French Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Iron
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Nutwood, Paper, Velvet, Glass
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
1840s Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Carrara Marble, Breccia Marble, Marble
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Silver Plate, Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Brass
20th Century English Grand Tour Furniture
Limestone
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Porphyry
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Stone, Marble, Metal, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Porphyry
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Serpentine
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Alabaster
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Serpentine
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
16th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Steel
Mid-20th Century European Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Velvet, Glass
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble, Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Paint
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze, Ormolu
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze