19th Century Grand Tour Influenced Mantel Clock
Antique Late 19th Century French Grand Tour Mantel Clocks
Siena Marble, Bronze
A Close Look at 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.
Finding the Right Mantel-clocks for You
Personal time-telling devices may have migrated from our pockets to our wrists and finally onto our phones, but despite the convenience of a handheld digital timekeeper, nothing can beat well-made vintage, new and antique mantel clocks.
Invented by clockmakers in France and popularized in the 18th and 19th centuries, these practical yet ornate pieces were typically displayed on top of fireplaces or desks. While the most common mantel clocks were created in the traditional tambour style, which features a wide base that flares into an upright drum- or camelback-shaped case, modern clockmakers and furniture designers have experimented with their own ideas for these decorative objects over the years, introducing different forms and working with unconventional materials. A collection of whimsical, monochromatic handmade mantel clocks crafted by Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk, called Floating Frames, for example, features minimalist frames of anodized wire and ceramic clockfaces.
When shopping for an antique, vintage or new mantel clock, don’t be afraid to branch out. Wood mantel clocks of any era will bring a classic, elegant allure to the shelving in your living room or the bookcase in your bedroom, while Empire-style mantel clocks will comparatively boast eye-catching gilt bronze and pronounced sculptural attributes. Some Art Deco mantel clocks will feature an integration of marble or glass and will likely be marked by the decorative embellishments associated with that particular furniture style.
There’s just something about cool clocks, right? Spend your time with an extraordinary collection of mantel clocks on 1stDibs today.