Grand Tour Furniture
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
Recognized Seller Listings
Pair 19th Century Painted Pine Corinthian Column Pedestals
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Pair 19th century painted pine Corinthian column pedestals in the classical Italian style with scrolling acanthus leaves and fluted detailing. The pair are finished in an off-white p...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Pine
A Pair of ‘Grand Tour’ Models of Ruins Celebrating the Corinthian Order
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A Large Pair of Giallo Antico Marble ‘Grand Tour’ Models of Ruins Celebrating the Corinthian Order, Attributed To The Workshop Of Benedetto Boschetti.
The Temple of Castor and Pollu...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble
A Near Pair of Venetian 19th Century Blue Lapis Lazuli and Marble Obelisks
Located in London, GB
A Near Pair of Lapis Lazuli Obelisks
Veneered with the rare and semi-precious deep blue lapis admired for its intense colour, each obelisk with Carrara marble bases and moulding.
Pr...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Lapis Lazuli, Carrara Marble
19th Century Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture “Callipygian Venus” of Antiquity
Located in Shippensburg, PA
GRAND TOUR MODEL AFTER ANTIQUITY
Naples, Italy (19th Century)
"The Callipygian Venus"
Sand-cast and patinated bronze signed foundry mark in the base "Fonderia Artistica Sommer Nap...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Brass Mounted Circular Speciman Top Coffee Table
Located in Dublin 8, IE
19th Century brass mounted circular speciman top coffee table. The central panel of precious stone depicts a scene of a water carrier in a mountainous landscape. This is surrounded b...
Category
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Brass
19th Century Pair of Original Hand Coloured Engravings of Egypt
Located in Dublin 8, IE
19th Century pair of original hand coloured engravings of Egypt in gilt wood frames. After Cecile by Lienard & Reville. Titled “Thebes: Karnak. Vue de la Porte et des Temples du Sud”...
Category
Mid-19th Century Irish Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Paper
Rare 19th Century Set of Three Large Grand Tour Oval Carrara Marble Plaques
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Rare 19th Century set of three unusually large Grand Tour oval Carrara marble plaques featuring relief profiles in bronze of Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus and Hadrian. All three are...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble
A Roman Micromosaic Plaque Depicting a Basket of Flowers
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A Roman Micromosaic Plaque Depicting a Basket of Flowers.
Inscribed verso 'From The Townshend Colln.', 'Poe 200, Florentine Mosaic',
16.5 x 18 cm, the plaque
18.5 x 20 cm, overall...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Belgian Black Marble
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 Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
19th Century 'Grand Tour' Marble Top Table with Base attributed to Trotter
By William Trotter
Located in London, GB
An Impressive 'Grand Tour' Specimen Marble Top Centre Table
The base attributed to William Trotter of Edinburgh
Constructed in a finely patinated mahogany, with a Florentine Pietra ...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Agate, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Marble, Breccia Marble, Porphyry
Pair of Grand Tour Bronze Busts, “Homer” & “Pseudo-Seneca”, circa 1880
Located in Shippensburg, PA
GRAND TOUR
Italian School
Pair of Busts, "Homer" & "Pseudo-Seneca", after Antiquity
Patinated bronze mounted on solid marble plinths cast by Chiurazzi, Naples circa 1880 each sealed with foundry cachet on shoulder
Item # 304KUV24Y
A rare and exciting pair of Grand Tour busts after Antiquity, each is executed in bronze and finished in a Herculaneum black patina with hints of verde in the underlying surface by the foundry of J. Chiurazzi of Naples. Foundry seals are located on their shoulders verso.
The first is a fine cast of Homer after the marble bust of Antiquity formerly in the Farnese collection and currently in the permanent collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. It depicts the aged Greek poet and author of the Illiad and the Odyssey as a bearded man dressed in a tunic with a ribbon holding back his hair while concerned wrinkles line his forehead. His eyes are empty and devoid of anything, the absence alluding to his blindness while the sheer intensity of his spirit overwhelms the viewer. His simple garment are a reminder of his poverty.
The second bust known as "Pseudo Seneca" is cast after the original bust of antiquity found in 1754 at Herculaneum in the Villa of the Papyri, the home of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, father-in-law of Julius Caesar. The estate was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The bust had been thought to be an image of Lucius Annaeus Seneca - Seneca the Younger - the famous Stoic philosopher and fabulously wealthy advisor to Nero. However, after a titled bust of Seneca...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Rare 19th Century Grand Tour Marble Top Table on Giltwood Base
Located in London, GB
A superb Specimen marble centre table
The Top attributed to Alfonso Cavamelli of Rome
Inspired by the Roman mosaics discovered at the ...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Malachite, Marble, Porphyry
19th Century Pair of Bronze Egyptian Revival Sphinx
Located in Dublin 8, IE
19th century pair of bronze Egyptian Revival sphinx figures in reclining poses seated on solid wooden rectangular plinth bases. A well-detailed...
Category
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Bronze
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 Furniture
Materials
Statuary Marble
19th Century Italian Pietra Dura Hardstone and Giltwood Table
Located in London, GB
An Italian Pietra Dura top occasional table
Constructed in carved gilt wood, having an unusual pietra dura inlaid rectangular platform; the table's legs terminating in scrolls, wi...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Carrara Marble, Porphyry, Onyx
Italian Grand Tour Antique Bronze Sculpture, Bust of Julius Caesar
Located in Shippensburg, PA
GRAND TOUR
Italian, 19th century
Bust of Julius Caesar
Patinated and pigmented sand-cast bronze over Violet Breche marble socle unsigned
Item # 212WHZ09P
A finely cast and beau...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Early 20th Century Mahogany Plinth in the Form of a Classical-Style Column
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Early 20th century mahogany plinth in the form of a classical-style fluted column with carved Ionic scrolling and Corinthian foliate detail to the capital.
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Italian Antique Scagliola Circular Centre Table Top
Located in London, GB
An Italian antique scagliola circular centre table top
Italian, 19th century
Height 1.5cm, diameter 90cm
This delicately detailed circular tabl...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Scagliola
Italian Antique 19th Century Scagliola Circular Table Top
Located in London, GB
An Italian antique 19th century scagliola circular table top
Italian, 19th century
Measures: Height 1.5cm, diameter 90cm
This superb piec...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Scagliola
Pair of Very Fine, Large Italian Pietra Dura Marquetry Panels
Located in London, GB
A pair of very fine, large Italian Pietra Dura marquetry panels
Italian, 19th century
Measures: Panels: height 64cm, width 53cm, depth 2cm
Frames: height 88cm, width 77cm, depth 6cm
Comprising black marble panels of oval form, set with semi precious stones, these exceptional panels are inlaid to depict a bouquet of flowers in antique vases...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble
Pair of 19th Century Italian Grand Tour Tazzas on Sienna Marble Bases
Located in Stockholm, SE
A pair of early 19th century Italian Grand Tour patinated bronze and sienna marble tazzas. A very nice and large pair of an unusual model having no side handles or side fixture decor...
Category
1820s Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Framed Set of Eleven Micromosaic Plaques of Italian Monuments
Located in London, GB
A framed set of eleven micromosaic plaques of Italian monuments
Italian, 19th century
Measures: Height 22cm, width 21.5cm, depth 2.5cm
Made du...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Giltwood
Rare Grand Tour Bronze Bust of Cicero After Massimiliano Soldani Benzi
Located in Montreal, QC
Rare grand Tour Patinated bronze bust of Cicero After Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. The original is in the collection of Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. P...
Category
1850s Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Italian Silver Gilt Grand Tour Pompeian Classical Piping Faun Bell
Located in New York, NY
Italian silver gilt grand-tour bell, ca 1920. Figural handle in form of piping faun with puffed out cheeks and hoofed and hirsute hindquarters. Based on Greek statuette excavated in ...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Silver
19th Century Micromosaic Table Top with Views of Rome from the Grand Tour
Located in London, GB
A grand tour circular table top
Possibly by Domenico Moglia
The circular platform of marmore nero, inset with fine micromosaic panels consisting of hundreds of coloured glass tesserae; a central flower bouquet sit within a malachite border surrounded by a border including four cartouches in conforming malachite reserves representing Roman views including the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vesta, the Capitoline Hill, and the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, connected by floral garlands.
Italy, circa 1855
Domenico Moglia (1780 - 1862)
Brothers, Luigi and Domenico Moglia, are celebrated as two of the few great mosaicists of the 19th century. Both are recorded as exhibiting at the 1851 Great Exhibition, London. Domenico's work included micromosaics plaques depicting views of 'the roman forum', 'the colosseum', and the 'temples of Paestum.'
The Lombardi Museum contains a collection of architectural...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Malachite, Marble
"Two Fates" German Bronze Sculpture after the Antique Cast by R. Bellair
Located in Shippensburg, PA
GRAND TOUR POLYCHROMED BRONZE GROUP OF "TWO FATES"
Foundry cachet verso for "R. Bellair & Co, Berlin, Friedrichstr.182"
Item # 012JIP09L
A good Grand Tour classical bronze group bas...
Category
20th Century German Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Style 20th Century Venetian Canal Oil Painting
Located in New York, NY
Grand Tour-Style (20th Century) unframed canvas oil painting of a bright, aqua canal crowded with gondolas under passage in front of Doge's Palace with St Mark's Campanile just behind it, and the domes of the Punta della Dogana visible in the distance in the lower left corner. Painting unsigned, noted as coming from a 20th-Century studio that specialized in historic commercial reproduction paintings...
Category
20th Century Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Canvas
Antique Italian Green Marble and 'Lava Cameo' Inkstand
Located in London, GB
Antique Italian green marble and 'lava cameo' inkstand
Italian, 19th century
Measures: Height 10cm, diameter 14cm
This charming inkstand is crafted from green marble and gilt metal....
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Metal
Large French Grand Tour Period Bronze Sculpture Recumbent Lion
Located in Montreal, QC
Grand Tour period bronze sculpture of lion resting on a rosso levanto marble base. France: circa 1850.
Category
1860s French Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Italian Micro-Mosaic Grand Tour Table Attributed to Roccheggiani
By Cesare Roccheggiani
Located in London, GB
A rare grand tour table
Possibly by Cesare Roccheggiani
The circular platform of marmore nero, inset with fine micromosaic panels consisting of thousands of coloured glass tesserae; a central roundel depicting The Vatican from St Peter's Square within a malachite border, surrounded by a border including four cartouches in polychrome reserves of Roman views including the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, with the remnants of the Temple of Vespasian; the Temple of Vesta, and the Pantheon, all interspersed and linked by voluminous bouquets of fruit and flowers representing the 4 seasons; the outer stylised border inlaid with deep blue tesserae evocative of exotic Lapis Lazuli. Supported on a finely carved Italian giltwood base, its design incorporating baskets of fruit and floral garlands echoing the 4 seasons theme of the table.
Italian, Circa 1875
Other table tops inspired by this design, although not as finely executed, can be found in several Russian collections (which house the greatest micromosaics) including Vorontsov Palace, Muranovo House, as well as the imperial State Hermitage Museum. A tabletop with profuse floral micromosaic work was commissioned by the Belgian Royal family (sold Sotheby's, 2003).
The floral garlands, the magnificent quality of the inlay and the use of distinct curved tesserae support the present attribution to Cesare Roccheggiani. According to Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, the world expert on micro mosaics, curved tesserae pieces were used in foliage, grass and animal fur by only the very best mosaicists such as Roccheggiani. Evidence of curved pieces, for instance, is observed in the foreground of the Temple of Vesta cartouche, to name but one observation of the master's hand.
The scion of a dynasty of mosaicists, Roccheggiani was perhaps the most successful mosaicist in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. He is doubtless related to Lorenzo Roccheggiani, a late eighteenth-century master mosaicist at the Vatican, whose work included the altarpiece, Crucifixion of St. Peter after Guido Reni. Nicolo Roccheggiani, possibly Lorenzo's son, was also a principle artist at the Vatican, involved in executing the famous tabletop Achilles Shield...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Malachite, Marble, Belgian Black Marble
Pair of Large 19th Century Italian Grand Tour Black Marble Nero Antico Obelisks
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A very attractive pair of Italian Grand Tour black marble obelisks. Detailed hieroglyphics to the front side, on a green marble plinth. Minor corner chips to both obelisks, otherwise...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble
Italian 19th C. Grand Tour Terracotta of a "Fauno Danzante Con Cimbali" ca. 1860
Located in CH
Italian 19th Century Grand Tour Terracotta of a "Fauno Danzante con Cimbali" Circa 1860
The statue depicts a satyr dancing and playing; in his right hand he holds the rattlesnakes...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Terracotta
19th Century Pair of Polished Marmo Marble Sphere Paperweights
Located in Shippensburg, PA
PAIR OF GRAND TOUR POLISHED MARMO AFRICANO MARBLE SPHERES
Circa early 19th century over shaped rock plinth
Item # C104033
A gorgeous pair of 19th century decorative marmo marble sp...
Category
19th Century Unknown Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Stone, Marble
Pair of Italian Candlesticks, Grand Tour, Early 19th Century
Located in Stockholm, SE
A large pair of candlesticks made of cast bronze and marble. Impressive design.
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
19th Century Tomb of the Scipios Grand Tour Souvenir
Located in New Orleans, LA
This incredible Grand Tour inkwell relic takes the form of the ancient Tomb of the Scipios, a family of Roman war heroes and generals. Beautifully carved ent...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Siena Marble
19th Century Grand Tour' Giltwood and Micromosaic Centre Table with Roman Scenes
Located in London, GB
A Grand Tour Centre Table
The Top Attributed to Cesare Roccheggiani
The carved gilt wood base in the manner of George Smith having four monopedia supports, each depicting leopards heads atop, with paw feet below, and conjoined by an incurved stretcher base having carved stiff leaf decoration, and raised on castors; the circular platform of marmoro nero, with a stylised Greek Key border within double Malachite reserves; the central micromosaic roundel depicts The Vatican from St Peter's Square, surrounded by eight separate roundels of The Pantheon of the Gods; the smallest of Rome's seven hills, the Capitoline; The Mauseoleum of Hadrian on the Tiber; The Roman Forum, with the remnants of the Temple of Vespasian; The Colosseum; the Temple of Vesta; The Arch of Titus, and the Tomb of Cecilia Metella.
English / Italian, Circa 1875
The attribution to Cesare Roccheggiani is supported by Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, former curator of the Gilbert Collection and Honorary Curator for the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Provenance: From a Noble family, the 6th Earl of Macclesfield (1811-1896) then by descent.
The base is similar in design to designs published by George Smith's A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1808. The taste for monopedia supports was of fashion, in the Regency period and models of such were displayed in the 1851 Great Exhibition. The Macclesfield coat of arms depicts a shield with a central chevron and three leopard's faces.
Views of Roman monuments was the most popular theme used by mosaicists in Rome in the beginning of the 19th century, supplying the flow of wealthy Grand tourists from Northern Europe. From small gold boxes...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Malachite
Antique Chased Silver Snuff Box Set with Fine Italian Micromosaic Plaque
Located in London, GB
The small rectangular silver snuff box, chased with foliage decorations and featuring a hinged back, is set with a detailed micromosaic plaque on top. The plaque depicts a rural land...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Stone, Silver
Pair of Regency French Ormolu Gilded Candelabras Featuring Turkish Figures
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Pair of Regency French ormolu gilded candelabras featuring Turkish figures supporting three foliate carved candle branches with urn-shaped bobeches. ...
Category
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Furniture
Materials
Ormolu
Grand Tour furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Grand Tour furniture 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 furniture created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, more furniture and collectibles, wall decorations and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, stone and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Grand Tour furniture 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 furniture, popular names associated with this style include Bertrando Di Renzo, Giustiniani, F. Barbedienne Foundry, and Ferdinand Barbedienne. 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 furniture differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $45 and tops out at $365,566 while the average work can sell for $2,501.
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