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.
Late 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Stone
1980s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Travertine
1990s British Grand Tour Furniture
Resin, Fiberglass
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century Greek Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster
Late 20th Century Pakistani Grand Tour Furniture
Marble
Late 20th Century Pakistani Grand Tour Furniture
Marble
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Silver
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster
Late 20th Century Unknown Grand Tour Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Grand Tour Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Grand Tour Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century Mexican Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster
1970s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Velvet, Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Wood
Also a profile of a Roman young man ($495); Medi...
Late 20th Century British Grand Tour Furniture
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Furniture
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Onyx
Early 20th Century Unknown Grand Tour Furniture
Malachite
1810s English Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Giltwood, Ebony, Wood, String
Mid-20th Century Chinese Grand Tour Furniture
Stone
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Alabaster, Marble
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century English Grand Tour Furniture
Stone
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Marble
18th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Stone
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Furniture
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Onyx
1980s Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Walnut
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Grand Tour Furniture
Plaster
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Composition
1980s American Vintage Grand Tour Furniture
Composition
Late 20th Century Thai Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Alabaster, Bronze
Late 20th Century French Grand Tour Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century European Grand Tour Furniture
Paper