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Grand Tour Animal 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 micromosaicssmall 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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Item Ships From: Europe
Style: Grand Tour
A Italian equestrian specimen marble carved study of a wild stallion and mare
Located in Central England, GB
This remarkable horse sculpture depicts a head and shoulders study of a wild stallion and mare carved meticulously from figured and veined natural marble stone with colours ranging f...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Pair of Cast Sculptures Bronze Lions, after Antonio Canova, 19th Century
Located in Cheltenham, GB
A pair of resting bronze lions on shaped walnut painted plinths modeled on the original marble sculpture by Antonio Canova. Reduction from the originals created by Antonio C...
Category

19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Monumental Uffizi Boar or Il Porcellino by Austin and Seeley
By Austin & Seeley
Located in London, GB
A mid-19th century model of the Uffizi Boar, called 'Il Porcellino', by Austin & Seeley, the seated figure of the boar on an integral square plinth. This cast stone model of the Uffizi Boar takes its name from a 17th-century bronze fountain by sculptor Pietro Tacca, made for Cosimo II de' Medici and originally placed in the Loggia at the Mercato Nuovo in Florence. This civic space was also known as the Loggia del Porcellino, named after the boar as rubbing the statue's nose is said to bring great wealth. Made in the 1630s, it was modelled after an earlier marble version (Italian, 2nd-1st century BC) discovered in Rome in 1556 on the slopes of the Esquiline Hill, itself thought to be based on a lost Greek Hellenistic bronze version. After restoration, the marble statue was brought to Florence in 1568 as a gift from Pope Pius IV to Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, initially placed in the Pitti Palace. Both this marble and the 17th-century bronze versions are now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It remained an immensely popular subject for Grand Tourists, who collected their own versions. It is a testament to the commercial prowess of Austin and Seeley...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Composition

A rare pair of Grand Tour gilt bronze horses of Saint Mark Venice, circa 1900
Located in Central England, GB
This superb pair of Grand Tour Italian gilt bronzes dates to the late 19th century. They are solid cast and very heavy for their size. They are decorative Grand Tour reproductions ta...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

19th Century Bronze Wolf Sculpture
Located in London, GB
A mid-19th century bronze sculpture of a wolf, set upon a green marble plinth.
Category

19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Pair of Serpentine Grand Tour Lions
Located in Cheshire, GB
Pair of serpentine Grand Tour lions.
Category

19th Century Unknown Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Serpentine

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 Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Alcibiades dogs
Located in 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, NL
Alcibiades Dogs in serpentine, Italy, Grand Tour, ca. 1880 Discovered in around 1750 at Monte Cagnuolo in Italy, the original dog was thought to represent the famous mastiff hound o...
Category

Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Serpentine

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Grand Tour Bronze Statue Of Dionysus
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Large Grand Tour Sculpture Bronze Greco-Roman Uffizi Wrestlers Barbedienne
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Italian 19th Century After Antonio Canova Venus Italica Carrara Marble Sculpture
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Large Labradorite Specimen
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Grand Tour Specimen Marbles Plaque, Italy, circa 1850
Located in Kinderhook, NY
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Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Homer, Italy, Circa:1890
Located in Alexandria, VA
This solid (except for the pedestal) hand-cast bronze is of the 8th Century BCE Greek poet, author of the Iliad & the Odyssey. Although there are no images from life of Homer, busts ...
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19th Century French Bronze Sculpture
Located in Houston, TX
19th century French bronze sculpture of a Classical Greek. This meticulously executed antique French bronze sculpture is of a handsome male figure holdi...
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19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

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19th Century French Bronze Sculpture
19th Century French Bronze Sculpture
H 19.25 in W 6.63 in D 8.75 in
Grand Tour Patinated Bronze Statue of Narcissus
Located in New York, NY
Grand Tour patinated bronze statue sculpture of a standing nude Narcissus, on a round base. Measures: 7.25" Height x 3.5" diameter. Dealer: S138XX.
Category

20th Century Grand Tour Animal 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 Animal Sculptures

Materials

Brass

Continental Grand Tour Brass Statue of Napoleon Bonaparte
Continental Grand Tour Brass Statue of Napoleon Bonaparte
Free Shipping
H 4.93 in W 1.97 in D 1.97 in
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Pair of bronze and marble lion book ends
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Pair of bronze and marble lion book ends. Good quality reproduction of crouching bronze lions, mounted on black/grey marble plinths. Ideal for keeping books upright or for other de...
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21st Century and Contemporary English Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

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Alcibiades dogs
Located in 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, NL
Alcibiades Dogs in serpentine, Italy, Grand Tour, ca. 1880 Discovered in around 1750 at Monte Cagnuolo in Italy, the original dog was thought to represent the famous mastiff hound o...
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Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Serpentine

Alcibiades dogs
Alcibiades dogs
H 6.3 in W 6.11 in D 2.37 in
Stone Horse Garden Ornament with Bejewelled Decorative Collar, circa 1930s
Located in London, GB
Reclaimed English composition figure of a recumbent horse, circa 1930s Almost unicorn in its features the horse has a trailing mane and bejewelled decorative detailed collar. Natur...
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Early 20th Century English Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

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19th Century Ancient Golden Wooden Lion's Head Wall Sculpture
Located in Catania, Sicilia
19th Century, Ancient Golden wooden wall sculpture Depicting A Lion's Head. Object of good quality and ideal for artistic compositions or wall decoration.
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Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Lupa Capitolina, 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Small bronze of wolf mother with Romulus and Remus on stone base.
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19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

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Bronze

Lupa Capitolina, 19th Century
Lupa Capitolina, 19th Century
H 6.11 in W 9.26 in D 3.94 in
Mid 19th Century Italian Marble Statue of a Lion
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Mid 19th century Italian grand tour marble statue, circa 1860. Fine quality white marble with grey veining carved lion with 1 foot on a ball. The lion is in a standing position wi...
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Italian Bronze Model Sleeping Lion 19th Century after Antonio Canova Grand Tour
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
- Beautifully modelled and cast - Atmospheric reference to the iconic original lions - Grand Tour collectible An Italian bronze model of a sleeping lion...
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1820s Italian Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

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Bronze Sphinxes, France, 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
A true pair of bronze sphinxes of opposite design mounted on marble pedestals.  
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19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

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Bronze

Bronze Sphinxes, France, 19th Century
Bronze Sphinxes, France, 19th Century
H 5.91 in W 6.11 in D 3.15 in
19th Century French Bronze of a Work Horse on Gilded Base
Located in London, GB
An excellent bronze study of a work horse on a gilded bronze base. French, circa 1870 Stands 8" tall.
Category

Mid-19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Grand Tour animal sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Grand Tour animal 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 animal sculptures created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, wall decorations, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with bronze, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Grand Tour animal sculptures made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and England pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original animal sculptures, popular names associated with this style include and Majolica Manufactory of Karlsruhe. 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 animal sculptures differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $582 and tops out at $108,390 while the average work can sell for $3,750.

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