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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
20th Century Indian Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli
Mid-20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century North American Grand Tour Furniture
Stone, Concrete
20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Grand Tour Furniture
Malachite, Marble
1920s German Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Terracotta
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
1920s French Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Porcelain
20th Century Afghan Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli
1960s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Canvas
1970s Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Agate
1960s Mexican Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Silver Plate, Brass
15th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Siena Marble, Bronze
2010s Afghan Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli
1910s French Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Giltwood
Mid-20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Porcelain
20th Century English Grand Tour Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
2010s Unknown Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli, Marble
Early 2000s Afghan Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Terracotta
2010s Congolese Grand Tour Furniture
Malachite
2010s Indian Grand Tour Furniture
Stone, Malachite
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Grand Tour Furniture
Lapis Lazuli
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Grand Tour Furniture
Jade
21st Century and Contemporary Congolese Grand Tour Furniture
Malachite