Grand Tour Sculptures
GRAND TOUR STYLE
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.
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Style: Grand Tour
Bronze Statuette of Venus, 2nd Half 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Small dark patinated figure of Venus on round profiled plinth.
Category
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Pompeii Bronze of Silenus, Greek God of Wine
Located in Stamford, CT
Superior quality large scale Italian Grand Tour bronze of the god Silenus after the Roman original excavated at Pompeii in 1864. This very fine cast shows the god holding aloft a coi...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Monumental Gold Leaf Sculpture of an Angel
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Monumental gold leaf sculpture of an angel
Grand Tour style, made of gold leaf lacquer over fiberglass-reinforced resin
The statue measures 94"...
Category
20th Century Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Resin, Fiberglass, Wood, Lacquer
Grand Tour Bronze Model of a Recumbent Horse
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Grand Tour bronze model of a Recumbent horse, realistically cast and modeled, raised on a faux marbleized base.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
1890 Steel Engraving Greco Roman Scene by Bernard Picture Co. New York Borghese
By Borghese
Located in Miami, FL
1890 Framed steel engraving Greco Roman scene by Bernard Picture Co. New York, New York.
Marked Borghese on the reverse.
Category
19th Century American Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Steel
Borghese 1890 Steel Engraving Greco Roman Scene Bernard Picture Co. New York
By Borghese
Located in Miami, FL
Framed 1890 Steel Engraving Greco Roman scene sand clock by Bernard Picture Co. New York, New York.
Marked Borghese on the reverse.
Category
19th Century American Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Steel
Bronze Bust of Aeskulap
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This stylsh bronze sculpture of the Greek god oh healing Aeskulap, and it was most likely originally acquired on the grand tour of Europe in the late 19th century.
Note: At the b...
Category
Late 19th Century German Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Italian 19th Century Neoclassical Style Ormolu and Marble Columns with Busts
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An outstanding and high quality true pair of Italian 19th century Neo-Classical st. Grand Tour period ormolu, black Belgian and Rouge Royal marble columns with busts...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Ormolu
French Grand Tour Borghese Gladiator in Cast Metal
Located in New York, NY
Monumental French late 19th century Grand Tour heavy cast metal sculpture of the Borghese Gladiator. The piece depicts a swordsman during fight and is a cast reproduction of the fame...
Category
1880s French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Metal
19th Century Statuary Marble Bust of the Braschi Antinous as Dionysus, Signed
Located in London, by appointment only
19th century statuary marble bust of the Braschi Antinous as Dionysus, Signed Puge
19th century statuary marble bust of Antinous as Dionysus, Sig...
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Statuary Marble
Grand Tour Style Allegorical Bronze of Thalia, Greek Goddess of Comedy & Poetry
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
The finely cast & patinated bronze figure of Thalia, one of the nine Greek Muses and known as The Goddess of Comedy & Idyllic Poetry, shown standing draped in classical attire holding a comedic mask by her side in one hand and a poem in the other, raised overall upon a stepped red marble plinth...
Category
1890s French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Italian 19th Century Grand Tour Period Patinated Bronze of a Roman Athlete
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A handsome Italian 19th century Grand Tour period patinated bronze of a Roman athlete. The bronze is raised by a rectangular mottled edge black Belgian marble base below a thick rect...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Large French Grand Tour Period Bronze Sculpture Recumbent Lion
Located in Montreal, QC
Grand Tour period bronze sculpture of lion resting on a rosso levanto marble base. France: circa 1850.
Category
1860s French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
19th Century French Egyptian Revival Slate and Gilt Obelisk
Located in Stamford, CT
19th century Grand Tour Egyptian Revival carved and polished black slate obelisk, the front decorated with very fine incised hieroglyphic designs which have been accented with gold l...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Slate
Large Labradorite Specimen
Located in New York, NY
Large polished labradorite specimen. Labradorite displays an iridescent optical effect (or schiller) known as labradorescence. Labradorite is also...
Category
2010s Australian Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Stone
Large Geometric Faceted Rock Crystal or Quartz
Located in New York, NY
Uniquely cut multifaceted rock crystal specimen. Rock crystal is the purest form of quartz and has been used in jewelry and ornaments since antiquity.
Category
2010s Brazilian Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Rock Crystal
Italian 19th C. Grand Tour Terracotta of a "Fauno Danzante Con Cimbali" ca. 1860
Located in CH
Italian 19th Century Grand Tour Terracotta of a "Fauno Danzante con Cimbali" Circa 1860
The statue depicts a satyr dancing and playing; in his right hand he holds the rattlesnakes...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Large Fine Bronze Sculpture of Mercury and Original Marble Pedestal
Located in Rochester, NY
Fine Grand Tour bronze sculpture of mercury flying on the wind after Giambologna. Polished rouge marble and bronze attached base. Green marble pedestal. Inscribed Jean de Bologne...
Category
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Stone, Marble, Metal, Bronze
Pair of Serpentine Grand Tour Lions
Located in Cheshire, GB
Pair of serpentine Grand Tour lions.
Category
19th Century Unknown Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Serpentine
"Two Fates" German Bronze Sculpture after the Antique Cast by R. Bellair
Located in Shippensburg, PA
GRAND TOUR POLYCHROMED BRONZE GROUP OF "TWO FATES"
Foundry cachet verso for "R. Bellair & Co, Berlin, Friedrichstr.182"
Item # 012JIP09L
A good Grand Tour classical bronze group bas...
Category
20th Century German Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Antique Pair of French Grand Tour Bronze Marble Cherubs Figures Putti Bookends
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stylish example of a pair of heavy well cast Grand Tour bronze seated figures of two amorino (infant cupid or cherub) probably of French origin, early nineteenth century.
Each fig...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
European Tour Bacchus Bronze Sculpture on Gilt and Rouge Royale Marble Base
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
European tour bacchus bronze sculpture on gilt and rouge Royale marble base from a palm beach estate
Note the refinement of the fingers and...
Category
Late 19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Pair of Terracotta Lions, after Canova, 19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
The pair of recumbent lions facing towards each other.
Category
19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
19th Century Bronze Bust of Caesar on Marble Pedestal
Located in Kilmarnock, VA
Nicely detailed Bronze bust of Caesar with terrific age acquired patina made in Italy during the late 19th century during the Grand Tour.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Grand Tour Souviner / Patinated Bronze Sculpture of Sophocles 'Greek Tragedian'
Located in Dallas, TX
Grand Tour Souviner / patinated bronze sculpture of Greek Tragedian (playwright) Sophocles (479 BC-406 BC).
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Large Grand Tour Bronze Model of the Colleoni Monument by Verrochi
Located in New York, NY
A Large Italian 19th century Grand Tour bronze model of The Colleoni Monument by Verrochi, on a granite base.
Category
1880s Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Granite, Bronze
German Glazed Terracotta Monkey Tile by Karlshrue
Located in Houston, TX
German glazed terracotta monkey tile by Karlshrue.
German glazed terra cotta or Majolica monkey tile by Karlshrue, circa 1920. This gorgeous wall art depicts two monkeys on a tree br...
Category
1920s German Vintage Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Pair of Grand Tour Bronzes of Atalanta and Hippomenes
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This set of two late 19th Century F. Barbedienne bronzes were acquired from a Palm Beach estate.
FYI
Atalanta, the Greek Goddess of Running, is one of the lesser-known gods worth kn...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Cabinet Size Bronze Sculpture of Venus de Milo after Ron Liod Sauvage
By Ron Sauvage
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine Venus de Milo bronze after Sauvage.
In an diminutive size that is perfect for the desk, mantel or vitrine.
Simply a wonderful little...
Category
20th Century French Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Grand Tour Lion Attacking a Horse Miniature Bronze Sculpture
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine 19th century Grand Tour miniature model of the Lion Attacking a Horse sculpture.
Modeled after the ancient Roman version found on Capitoline Hill.
Sized as a paperweight...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Slate, Bronze
Bronze Plaque of Napoleon Crossing the Alps after the Painting by David
Located in London, GB
Bronze plaque in high relief of Napoleon crossing the Alps after the famous painting by Jacques-Louis David (30 August 1748-29 December 1825...
Category
Early 1800s French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
French Grand Tour Patinated Bronze Animalier Mounted Thermometer
Located in London, GB
A fine and unusual French antique Grand Tour table thermometer in patinated bronze. Set upon a naturalistic trefoil shaped patinated bronze base with...
Category
1840s French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Orange-Brown Banded Jasper Point
Located in New York, NY
Unusual orange and brown banded jasper point from Madagascar.
Category
2010s Malagasy Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Stone
A Sculpture of Hercules
Located in New Haven, CT
This is a beautiful copy of the Farnese Hercules executed in the Grand Tour Period made of albaster - it stands on a custom-made rare white marble pedestal with black veins.
The Fa...
Category
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Alabaster
Pair of 19th Century Grand Tour Roman Feet Bronze Candlesticks
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Pair of 19th century grand tour Roman feet bronze candlesticks, each one realistically cast of one pair of human feet, that hold one standard candle.
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Bronze Busts of Rousseau and Voltaire
Located in London, GB
A pair of Antique busts of the French philosophers Rousseau and Voltaire. Unusually although from fairly standard portraits the busts appear to be English rather than French as they ...
Category
1820s English Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Cast Bronze Dante Alighieri Grand Tour Bust Sculpture Statue on Marble
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Italian cast bronze bust of Dante Alighieri on marble plinth. Item features: Fine bronze casting, beautiful patina, remarkable details, on bevelled edge marble plinth, circa ...
Category
1890s Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Grand Tour Bronze and Marble Sculpture of the 'Seated Hermes' or Mercury
By Fonderia Chiurazzi
Located in Kinderhook, NY
A large and exceptional late 19th century Italian Grand Tour sculpture of the ‘Seated Hermes’ attributed to the Chiurazzi Foundry, Naples, Italy. The sol...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Grand Tour Marble Sculpture of the Melossian Hound
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This stylish and handsome piece dates to the "Grand Tour" period of Europe and is titled the "Melossian Hound" of ancient Greece, Albania, and is carve...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Grand Tour Hand Carved Boxwood Romantic Boy & Girl Under Palm Leaf Wall Plaque
Located in Lisse, NL
Beautiful quality, one of a kind German or Italian antique wall sculpture.
This rare wall sculpture from the late 1800s is all hand car...
Category
Late 19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Boxwood, Nutwood
Late 19th Century Grand Tour Italian Bronze Sculpture of Nude Venus Candlestick
Located in Lisse, NL
Elegant and highly stylish candlestick or table lamp.
This handcrafted and heavy quality, bronze candle stick or table lamp from the 1890-1910 era is in very good condition. This ro...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Diane De Gabies Silvered Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture by Gautier & Albinet
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A finely scaled model of the Diane de Gabies published by Gautier and Albinet.
With a wonderful distressed silvered surface throughout.
The Diane de Gabies is modeled after th...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Antique Grand Tour Patinated Bronze Dogs Seated on Sienna Marble Plinths
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful pair of 19th century antique grand tour patinated bronze dogs seated on siena marble plinths. Each dog is beautifully cast and hand-chiseled with meticulous craftsmanship...
Category
1880s Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Siena Marble, Bronze
Pair of Antique Italian Grand Tour Models of Ruins in Sienna Marble
Located in New York, NY
A very fine and early pair of Roman neoclassical period grand tour Sienna marble models of the Temple of Castor and Pollux and the Temple of V...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Siena Marble
19th Century Grand Tour Bronze Figure of Diana
Located in Stockton, NJ
A finely cast 19th century Grand Tour figure of a Diana.
Category
1870s Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Fine Pair of Grand Tour Style Miniature Bronze Busts, Continental, circa 1900
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A very handsome pair of classical bronze busts raised on white alabaster columns decorated with gilt metal rings, atop squared rouge royal marble...
Category
Early 20th Century German Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Alabaster, Bronze
Fine Grand Tour Style Bronze of Mercury Mounted as a Table Lamp, Circa 1900
By Giambologna
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
The large & finely proportioned cast bronze figure of Mercury - Roman god of abundance & commercial success, shown standing atop the mouth of Aeolus - Ruler of the Four Winds, while ...
Category
Early 20th Century European Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Pair of 19th Century Italian Grand Tour Bronze Oil Lamps on Marble Bases
Located in Stamford, CT
Fantastic pair of Roman bronze tripod stands, each with three removable hanging oil lamps, each of those a different type, with a lid in the form of an animal, a rat, a hawk and a swan. The detail on these is incredible, not an exact pair, one has stags heads the other goats heads, one a figure of Mercury, the other of young Dionysus...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Griotte Marble, Slate, Bronze
An Antique Grand Tour Period "Rosso Antico" Red Marble Obelisk Column w/ Flame
Located in New York, NY
A very finely carved 19th century Grand Tour period "Rosso Antico" marble souvenir, including Egyptian Obelisk with a Flame Finial. It is inscribed with gilt Latin lettering describi...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Bronze Sculpture of the Borghese Warrior
Located in Miami, FL
Bronze sculpture after the Borghese Warrior of which the original life sized statue is in the Louvre. Placed on a marble plate. Comes with a wood and ...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Antique Sienna Cream Marble Grand Tour Classical Bust of Lady Figure
Located in Dublin, Ireland
A very fine quality carved white marble bust of a Grand Tour classical maiden, with down cast head and exotic head dress, late nineteenth century
This exceptional piece rests on ...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
Vintage Brass Verdigris Male Head Bust Sculpture
Located in Elkhart, IN
A gorgeous brass verdigris Grand Tour classical style male head bust sculpture
USA, Late 20th century
Measures: 3.75"W x 4.5"D x 5.25"H.
Good vintage condition.
Category
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Brass
Grand Tour Revival Smoky Quartz Orbs on Stands, 2
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Grand Tour Revival smoky quartz spheres upon gilt bronze laurel wreath stands mounted atop smoky rock crystal bases, the mineral specimens ...
Category
20th Century Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Quartz, Rock Crystal, Brass
Edouard Henri Delesalle Bronze Venus De Milo Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture
Located in Atlanta, GA
Edouard Henri Delesalle (French, 1823-1851), circa 1840.
A good quality Grand Tour model of Venus de Milo cast in bronze.
"Venus de Milo or Aphrodite of Melos is an ancient Greek ...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Continental Grand Tour Brass Statue of Napoleon Bonaparte
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A nice quality continental Grand Tour brass figure of Napoleon Bonaparte standing on a column and dating from the 19th century. Made from solid brass the renowned French Military Lea...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Brass
Antique Grand Tour Bronze Boar Sculpture of “Il Porcellino” After Pietro Tacca
By Pietro Tacca
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique Grand Tour bronze sculpture.
Depicting a seated boar on a pink Italian marble plinth.
"Il Porcellino" is the ...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Capitoline Venus Grand Tour Mid 19th century bronze
By Praxiteles 1
Located in Mobile, AL
This grand tour bronze sculpture depicts the version of Venus so important to the history of art and literature in the U.S. that the original was temporarily loaned to the National Gallery of Art from the Capital Museums in Rome in 2011. Mark Twain visited Rome and upon his return home in 1867 he published "The Capitoline Venus" and he described the work as the “most illustrious work of ancient art the world can boast of". (with credit to the National Gallery of Art catalog...
Category
Mid-19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair Grand Tour Bacchus Influence Putti, 19th Century
Located in Brighton, Sussex
An enchanting pair of late 19th century patinated and gilded bronze reclining Bacchus influenced Putti, mounted on carved Sienna marble plinths.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Sculptures
Materials
Siena Marble, Bronze
Grand Tour sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Grand Tour sculptures for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage sculptures created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, more furniture and collectibles, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, bronze and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Grand Tour sculptures made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and France pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original sculptures, popular names associated with this style include F. Barbedienne Foundry, Ferdinand Barbedienne, Borghese, and Achille Collas. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for sculptures differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $175 and tops out at $108,390 while the average work can sell for $2,800.