Grand Tour Busts
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
Antique Pair Italian Bronze Busts of Dionysus and Ariadne 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a fine antique pair of Italian Grand Tour solid bronze busts of Dionysus and Ariadne, circa 1860 in date.
The pair feature black patinated finely cast busts which are mount...
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Slate, Bronze
Grand Tour Italian Bronze Bust Of Mellephebe
Located in Essex, MA
A finely cast image of Mellephebe, the young Eros after the antique. Very likely the Chiurazzi foundry, Naples. Sienna marble socle. The original discovered in the mid 18th century b...
Category
1870s Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Siena Marble, Bronze
Antique Italian Grand Tour Carrara Marble Bust Psyche Of Capua
Located in Newark, England
Psyche Of Capua
Fine marble bust on pedestal after the antique. The bust sculpted as the goddess Psyche Of Capua presented as a nude female...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Carrara Marble
Roman Bust Bronze &Marble Grand Tour Roman Emperor Caracalla, Attr; B. Boschetti
Located in New York, NY
A Large Neoclassical and Exceptional Quality Early to Mid 19th Century Roman (Italian), Grand Tour Bronze and Marble Bust of Roman Emperor "Caraca...
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Italian Grand Tour Carved Marble Bust Of Woman
Located in Bradenton, FL
Classical 19th century hand-carved Italian Neoclassic Grand Tour marble female bust. Bust features intricately carved young woman's head and neck, wearing delicate drapery across déc...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
'Seated Hermes', a 19th Century Italian Grand Tour Bronze
Located in Chicago, IL
An extraordinary and wonderfully rendered 19th century Italian cast bronze depicting a seated Hermes, the Greek god of messengers, travelers, and merchan...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Pair of Grand Tour Socrates and Septimio Severo Busts
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of Italian busts from the Grand Tour, representing the Greek philosopher Socrates and the Emperor Septimius Severus, sculpted in bronze, with a chiseled bronze base and marble c...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Italian Grand Tour White Marble Bust of Augustus Caesar
Located in Bradenton, FL
19th century Italian Grand Tour white marble bust of Augustus Caesar. Bust sits on a round white marble pedestal base. Augustus was Julius Caesar's great-nephew, and the first Roman ...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
Bust Grand Tour Ajax in Patinated Bronze and Marble Column Base
Located in Madrid, ES
A 19th century patinated bronze depicting the hero Ajax or Menelaus, king of Sparta, mounted on a column-shaped base of grey veined marble, a classic souvenir of the Grand Tour
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Grand Tour Bust of Augustus
Located in Greenwich, CT
Italian 19th century bronze bust of Augustus Ceasar, finely detailed and well patinated, standing on turned ebonized wood and marble socle plinth base.
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
19th Century (early) Italian Grand Tour Bronze Bust Marble Stand Marcus Aurelius
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
19th Century (early) Italian Grand Tour Bronze Bust Marble Stand Marcus Aurelius
Unique piece purchased in France.
See detailed photos.
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Grand Tour 19th Century Marble Bust of Antinous as Hermes by Filli Pugi
Located in Shippensburg, PA
FILLI PUGI
Italian, fl. 19th century
Bust of the Capitoline Antinous after Antiquity
Carved Carrara Marble signed verso “Filli Pugi Firenze” executed circa late 19th century
Ite...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Carrara Marble
Pair 19th C. Multi-Specimen Marble & Porphyry Busts, Ceasar Domitian & Augustus
Located in New York, NY
An Incredible and Large Pair of Multi-Specimen Marble and Porphyry Busts of Ceasars Domitian and Augustus of Prima Porta. Each composed of multiple stone specimens and mounted on squ...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Porphyry
19th C. Italian Grand Tour Portrait Medallion of Alexander the Great in Bronze
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
19th Century Italian Grand Tour Portrait Medallion of Alexander the Great in Bronze, Attributed to Naples Foundry, 1st half of 19th Century.
A fine 19th-century Italian Grand Tour...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Style Bronze Bust of Clytie
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Grand Tour Style bronze bust of Clytie, after the antique, the nymph with downcast face and scantily draped, cupped in a large flower. Raised on a 6" sq...
Category
Early 20th Century French Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
18th Century Italian Grand Tour Pair Of Classical Busts Apollo Belvedere & Diana
Located in Reading, Berkshire
Elegant Pair The Italian 19th Century Grand Tour Classical Greek God And Goddess Apollo And Diana Decorative Alabaster Busts For A Wonderful Library Desk
Depicting Apollo Belvedere ...
Category
18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
Very Rare Italian Grand Tour Marble Sculpture of the Eros Di Centocelle
Located in London, GB
A remarkable grand tour marble sculpture of the
eros di Centocelle
The god of love carved from a block of statuary marble, raised on a ...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Statuary Marble
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 Busts
Materials
Bronze
Ajax, bust in bronze
Located in 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, NL
Grand Tour bronze of the god Ajax from Greek mythology.
Very detailed with a beautiful patina.
Category
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Small Bronze Bust of the Boy Octavian, 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Small bronze bust of young Octavian, later Emperor Augustus and first Roman Emperor.
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Antique Statuary Marble Bust of Diana
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An antique white statuary marble bust of Diana, ex Dunkirk Manor, Stroud, England.
Dating to circa 1850, this Italian sculpture is of an impressive life size scale mounted on a circ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Statuary Marble
Grand Tour Roamn Style Bronze Bust of a Man
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Grand Tour Roman Style Bronze Bust of a Man
Italy, 20th century
A striking Grand Tour Roman-style bronze bust of a man, made in Italy during the 20th century. This beautifully cas...
Category
20th Century European Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
19th Century French Patinated Bronze Bust Of Ariadne
Located in Norwood, NJ
Antique 19th century French patinated bronze bust of Ariadne retailed by Tiffany & Co. Beautiful Grand Tour model mounted on a gilt bronze and rouge marble plinth. Marked Tiffany & Co. with inventory number.
The Antinous bust based on the Lansdown Antinous marble found at Hadrian’s Villa...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Antique Wedgwood Basalt Bust of Homer
By Wedgwood
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An antique Wedgwood black basalt bust of Homer.
This Grand Tour style sculpture is a very stylish depiction of the scholar.
This English bust depicts the legendary poet and author Homer who is presumed to have penned the two of ancient Greece’s most epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey. Scholars are uncertain whether or not Homer actually existed but if he in fact did exist, Homer would be regarded as one of the greatest literary artists of his time.
At over 160 years old, this Homer bust...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Stone
Italian Carrara Marble Bust Of The Apollo Belvedere
Located in Essex, MA
Nicely carved bust. With round socle base. A celebrated sculpture from classical antiquity.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Carrara Marble
Grand Tour Bronze Bust Of Seneca
Located in Essex, MA
Bust of Seneca likely made in the Naples area of Italy. Now seated on a faux porphyry base. Loss of a section of bronze at base of neck.
Category
1870s Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Marble Bust of Antinous
Located in Dublin 8, IE
19th Century Marble Bust of Antinous after the original known as the 'Antinous Vaticano' discovered at Hadrian's Villa. Featuring realistic detail to hair and handsome facial features...
Category
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
Italian Grand Tour Antique Bronze Sculpture, Bust of Julius Caesar
Located in Shippensburg, PA
A finely cast and beautifully patinated bust of Julius Caesar, it likely originates from Rome circa the third quarter of the 19th century and rests over its original violet breché ma...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Early 20th Century Sculpture Plaster Bust of Platon
Located in Madrid, ES
An academy bust in plaster representing a Greek philosopher, possibly Platon, the bust has a high quality of execution and is slightly patinated.
Category
Mid-20th Century Spanish Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Plaster
Grand Tour bust of a woman, Italy 19th century
Located in Greding, DE
Female bronze bust of a woman on a gilded foot, resting on a brown marble plinth with a black wooden base. Natural patina. Plinth 7 x 7 cm
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Apollo and Diana Plaster Busts
Located in Savannah, GA
A pair of modern grand tour plaster busts depicting Apollo and Diana, circa 1940s.
5 ½ inches wide by 4 ¼ inches deep by 10 ½ inches tall
Good overall with some discoloration and ...
Category
1940s Unknown Vintage Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Plaster
Grand Tour Bust of Julius Caesar, 19th Century
Located in London, by appointment only
19th Century Grand Tour statuary marble portrait bust of Julius Caesar 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC
Bust of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was a...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
Bronze Bust of Caesar Augustus
Located in Essex, MA
Very heavy and beautifully cast with great patina.
Category
1880s Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Bust in the Grand Tour Style of Greek God Dionysus
Located in Memphis, TN
An Exceptional Large grand Tour Style Hellenistic Bust Of Greek God Dionysus. Highly detailed classical bust made of cast marble aka “marble dust.” Replica of Greek classical sculpt...
Category
Mid-20th Century European Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
19th Century Italian Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Dante
Located in San Francisco, CA
An exceptional large antique Italian Grand Tour Bronze and bust of Dante Alighieri, mid to late 19th century circa 1880. This fine bronze is modeled as the 13th century Italian Poet,...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
pair of Italian 19th century Alabaster and Verde Ranocchia marble busts
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A wonderful and small scaled pair of Italian 19th century Grand Tour Period Alabaster and Verde Ranocchia marble bust of Torquato Tasso and Michele Sanmicheli. These most decorative ...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
Antique Plaster Bust of Apollo on a Simulated Marble Column
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An antique plaster bust of Apollo in life-size form raised on a simulated marble column.
Dating from the late 19th century, this superb plaster figure will make a handsome feature o...
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Plaster
Plaster Bust of Roman Emperor Augustus on Wood Pedestal
Located in Elkhart, IN
A gorgeous bust of Roman emperor Augustus.
USA, Circa mid-20th century
Plaster bust on wood pedestal base
Measures: 2.75"W x 2.75"D x 7.5"H.
Good original vintage condition.
Category
Mid-20th Century American Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Plaster, Wood
Vintage Italian Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Julius Augustus Caesar
Located in Chicago, IL
Vintage Italian Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Julius Augustus Caesar
A beautiful bust raised on a marble plinth base with a brass crest to dress up any home. Realistically cast and mode...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
A Pair of 18th C. Italian Grand Tour Busts of Emperors Domitian and Nerva
Located in New York, NY
A Pair of Grand Tour Period 18th C. Italian Roman Busts of Emperors Domitian and Nerva. These busts depict the Roman Emperors Domitian and Nerva, and demonstrate finely cast and han...
Category
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
19th century bronze bust of the Greek Goddess Diana the Huntress, circa 1860
Located in Central England, GB
This superb Grand Tour bronze study portrays a bust of Diana of Versailles or Diana the Huntress, considered in Roman and Hellenistic mythology as goddess and patroness of countryside, nature, hunters, wildlife and childbirth. This fine example is French, circa 1860. It is raised onto a sophisticated base with a thin bronze foot with a turned black slate plinth and above there is a highly decorative cast...
Category
1860s French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Petite Italian Grand Tour Souvenir Bronze Bust of Dante Alighieri
Located in Pearland, TX
A fine antique 19th Century petite Grand Tour souvenir bronze bust of Italian poet Dante Alighieri. This handsome bust is well cast with exquisite details and lovely original patina....
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Large Italian Marble Bust of Roman Emperor Dated 1887
Located in New York, NY
Our very large and expertly sculpted Italian marble bust of a Roman emperor measures 35 in tall, 29 in wide and 13 1/2 in deep. Signer on reverse P.B. 1887. Possibly depicts Julius...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble
Italian Marble Bust of Caesar Augustus
Located in Essex, MA
Nicely carved head with Turquin blue marble socle. Smooth soft patina to the stone. Turquin marble was used in ancient Rome for flooring , bathtubs etc. It was used often in the Fren...
Category
1870s Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Carrara Marble
Italian Carrara Marble Bust of a Roman Patrician
Located in Essex, MA
Nicely carved bust of a Roman patrician. a 19th century copy of an ancient Roman image. Socle base.
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Carrara Marble
Pair of Antique Italian Grand Tour Style Marble and Malachite Obelisks
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 18 in W: 5 1/2 in D: 5 1/2 in
This stunning pair of early 20th-century Italian Grand Tour style obelisks epitomizes the grandeur and elegance associated with classic...
Category
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Malachite, Marble
Antique Grand Tour French Parian Sculpture Male Female Figures Group 19C
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stunning French Grand Tour Parian Bisque Group depicting a male and female standing figures, mid to late Nineteenth Century.
The male Farmer in period dress holding an agricultural...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Ceramic, Abalone, Porcelain
Silver Bust of Menelaus King of Sparta Grand Tour
Located in Rochester, NY
19th century silver plate bust Menelaus mythological king of Sparta. A fine casting with rich patina. Ebonized wood base. Illegible hallmark. In Greek mythology, Menelaus was a king ...
Category
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Silver Plate
Antique Grand Tour French Bronze Sculpture Male Female Figure Clodion Barbediene
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An exceptional example of a fine pair of chisel cast French Patinated Bronze Figures after Claude Michel Clodion (1738-1814) in very dark brown patination. Mid-19th Century. Firmly a...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze, Ormolu
Grand Tour terracotta bust of an Egyptian princess, 19th c
Located in Stockholm, SE
This striking small bust captures the timeless elegance of an Egyptian princess, inspired by the art and aesthetics of Tell-el-Amarna, a period known for its distinctive representati...
Category
Late 19th Century Egyptian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Terracotta
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 Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
Mid 20th Century Vintage Grand Tour Plaster Bust of Man
Located in west palm beach, FL
Channel classical grandeur into your décor with this commanding Vintage Grand Tour-style plaster bust of a bearded man, resting atop a distressed black pedestal. Sculpted with dramat...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Plaster, Wood
Antique Grand Tour French Bronze Sculpture Male Figure Cherub Clodion Barbediene
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An exceptional example of a chisel cast French Patinated Bronze Figural Group of a Satyr and a male Figure holding a Baby Bacchus after Claude Michel Clodion (1738-1814) in dark pati...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze, Ormolu
Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Seneca
Located in Essex, MA
Modeled after the original found at Pompeii.
Category
1880s Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Bust of Apollo Belvedere, Italy 19th century
Located in Greding, DE
Gilded bust of Apollo Belvedere on a grey cylindrical plinth with black base. Plinth: 6.5 x 6.5 cm
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Antique Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Roman Emperor
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An antique Grand Tour bronze bust of a roman emperor, mounted on a Belgian black marble base.
Thought to be a depiction of a young Caesar, the expertly carved sculpture showcases de...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Belgian Black Marble
Pair of 19th Century '1850s' Grand Tour Italian Carved Multi-Marble Busts
Located in North Miami, FL
A pair 19th century (1850s) (Grand Tour) Italian carved multi-marble busts of Augustus of Prima Porta and Julius Cesar. These extremely fine an...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Marble, Carrara Marble
Fine Large Patinated Bronze Bust of a Roman or Greek Nobleman
Located in New York, NY
Fine and very detailed patinated bronze bust of a Roman or Greek nobleman.
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Busts
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour busts for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Grand Tour busts 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 busts created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, bronze and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Grand Tour busts 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 busts, popular names associated with this style include Achille Collas, Chiurazzi fondata, and Sabatino De Angelis. 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 busts differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $395 and tops out at $108,302 while the average work can sell for $2,514.