Grand Tour Decorative Objects
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.
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century Pakistani Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble
Mid-20th Century European Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble
Late 19th Century Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Siena Marble, Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
1880s French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Alabaster
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
1870s French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Griotte Marble, Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Porphyry
21st Century and Contemporary British Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Plaster
Mid-20th Century Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
1940s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Belgian Black Marble
1860s French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Metal
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Terracotta
1830s Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Porphyry
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
1860s French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble, Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Porphyry
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Walnut
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Alabaster
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Terracotta
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze, Ormolu
16th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Steel
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Stone
1880s Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Alabaster
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Glass
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Siena Marble, Ormolu, Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
1880s Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Granite
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Terracotta
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Late 19th Century Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
1870s Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Siena Marble, Bronze
19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze, Ormolu
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Bronze
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Siena Marble
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Marble
Mid-20th Century Grand Tour Decorative Objects
Plaster, Paint