Grand Tour Wall Decorations
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
Italian Marble Profile Plaque of Roman Emperor Ceasar Vespasianus, Late 18th C
Located in North Miami, FL
This finely Late 18th Century (Grand Tour Period) modeled portrait relief plaque of the Roman Emperor Caesar Vespasian (9-79 AD) is carved from...
Category
18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Marble, Carrara Marble
19th Century Grand Tour Micro Mosaic Tablet Depicting Italian Architecture
Located in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
A fine mid-19th century serpentine grand tour micro mosaic tablet or paperweight of the iconic St Peter's Vatican, The Colosseum of Rome, The Pantheon, The Ruins of The Roman Forum a...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Belgian Black Marble
Period Venetian Portrait Painting
By Francesco Fedeli
Located in Roma, IT
Francesco Fedeli (Venice, 1738 - 1805) called “Il Maggiotto “ great Italian painter and physicist.
The “𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗵𝗲” ( Craftsman fixing chairs ) is taken from one of...
Category
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Canvas, Wood
Henry Salt , Engravings Of Pagoda At Ramisseran , Ruins Of The Port
Located in Essex, MA
These prints are from a series twenty four views taken in the Cape , India,Ceylon , The Red Sea, Abyssinia and Egypt. Salt from England was a watercolorist and studied under Joseph F...
Category
1790s English Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Glass, Giltwood, Burl, Paper
Neoclassical Italian Drawing Framed Portrait
By Domenico Morelli
Located in Roma, IT
Rare and intense pencil on paper drawing attributed to the great 19th century Italian artist Domenico Morelli.
It depicts with strong character a man portrayed in three-quarter view....
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood, Paper
Early 19th Century Oil on Panel of Rome
Located in Shipston-On-Stour, GB
Italian School early 19th Century, View of Rome, with Bridge and the Castle St. Angelo and St Peter's Cathedral in the distance. Oil on board. In carved giltwood frame. Circa 1830
H...
Category
1830s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paint
Large Antique Grand Tour Travel Photography Album by Bosetti, X., L.P. Et Al
Located in New York, NY
Large scale 17 inch by 14 inch 19th century Grand Tour photography album comprised of 92 photographs which include a number of rare images, many of which are signed.
53 photographs...
Category
19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Leather, Paper
Italian painting, lake scene, 19th century
Located in VÉZELAY, FR
In the foreground, a lake surrounded by vegetation.
On the left bank, several figures, some in a boat.
In the background, a building that resembles a fortified castle, in a hilly lan...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Antique Grand Tour Italian Capriccio Framed Oil on Board Painting of a Landscape
Located in Elkhart, IN
A gorgeous Grand Tour or Neoclassical style framed oil painting of an Italian Capriccio landscape with ruins
Italy, Late 19th Century
Oil on board, gilt frame
Measures: 10.25"W x ...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood, Paint
Pair of Monumental English Regency Framed Italian 18C Painted Tapestries
Located in Dallas, TX
PRESENTING an EXCEPTIONAL Pair of Monumental English Regency Framed Italian 18C Painted Tapestries/Paintings.
We are of the firm opinion, that these tapestries were made and hand-pa...
Category
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Burlap, Mahogany
Domenico Morelli 19th Century Orientalist Watercolor
By Domenico Morelli
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful and interesting watercolor painting on paper attributed to the great Neapolitan artist Domenico Morelli.
It depicts one of his favorite subjects, namely an oriental woman c...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood, Paper
Pair of a Period Italian Grand Tour Litographies
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful and important pair of architectural studies of the Roman Forum as they appeared in the time of the Empire precisely, as the inscriptions in the works attest, in 315 B.C.
In...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paper
Pair of Neapolitan Grand Tour Gouaches Naples Bay & Mount Vesuvius- Smaller
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Pair of Neapolitan Grand Tour Gouaches Naples Bay & Mount Vesuvius- Smaller
Italy, Circa 1850s
View these enchanting vistas of 19th-century Italy with ...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Camille Corot Follower 19th Century Italian Landscape
By Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Located in Roma, IT
Camille Corot Follower 19th Century Italian Landscape
Beautiful oil on panel work by a very close artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.
It depicts, in his typical style, a suggestive ...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood
Anglo Indian Grand Tour Miniature Taj Mahal Painting In Carved Rosewood Frame
Located in Atlanta, GA
Embark on a journey through time with this extraordinary antique Anglo-Indian Grand Tour Era Miniature Taj Mahal Painting, nestled within a beautifu...
Category
19th Century Indian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Enamel
Signed Italian Period Painting Neapolitan Landscape
By G. Gianni
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful and exciting tempera painting by the great artist of the Posillipo School Girolamo Gianni.
It depicts a striking view of the Gulf of Naples with Vesuvius and Castel Sant'El...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood, Paper
Grand Tour Pietra Dura Plaque of Cavaliers Drinking in a Cellar, Florence c.1885
Located in London, GB
A fantastic large Grand Tour Florentine antique pietra dura plaque depicting a group of drunken cavaliers carousing in a cellar.
The image in this piece is all made of pietra dura:...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Stone
A.Pasini 19th Century Orientalist Italian Signed Watercolor
By Alberto Pasini
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful, evocative watercolor attributed to the great Emilian artist Alberto Pasini.
It depicts, captured with rare intensity, a building taken up several times in other paintings by Pasini.
The pastel colors with their shading create the beautiful rarefied atmosphere of this small masterpiece. Signed “A Pasini ” at lower right.
This artwork, never before on the market, comes from an important European private collection.
Every item of our Gallery, upon request, is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Sabrina Egidi official Expert in Italian furniture for the Chamber of Commerce of Rome and for the Rome Civil Courts.
NB the work is sold unframed
Alberto Pasini (3 September 1826 – 15 December 1899) was an Italian painter.
He is best known for depicting Orientalist subjects in a late-Romantic style.
He was born in Busseto. His father was a commissioner for his district, a post analogous to a sub-prefect.
After the death of his father in 1828, he and his mother moved to Parma, where Pasini enrolled, at the age of 17 years, in the Academy of Fine Art of Parma.
He studied landscape painting and drawing. In Parma, he was helped early on by Alberto's uncle, the painter and manuscript illuminator, Antonio Pasini, who painted for the local nobility and collaborated with the publishing house established by Giovanni Battista Bodoni.
By 1852, he exhibited a series of thirty designs, made into lithographs, depicting various castles around Piacenza, Lunigiana and Parma.
He was noticed by the artist Paolo Toschi...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
1830 Watercolor and Gouache Painted Vignettes of Eastern Entertainers
Located in Savannah, GA
The caption of this charming pen and ink, watercolor and gouache vignette reads
"A troupe of Eastern Entertainers taken from diary of G. Copeland 1830."
Perhaps a rememberance from...
Category
1830s English Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Silk, Glass, Paint, Paper
ANTIQUE ORIGINAL GRAN TOUR PARIS 1829 VOL 3 PL.30 PRiNT OF THEBES KARNAK EGYPT
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques
Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this stunning original Egyptian Gran Tour Thebes Karnak gold framed copper plate print 2nd ed. (Paris, 1829,...
Category
1820s French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
ANTIQUE ORIGINAL GRAN TOUR PARIS 1829 VOL 5 PL.35 PRINT OF CLEOPATRA's NEEDLE
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques
Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this stunning original French Gran Tour D'APRES JACQUES-MARIE LE PERE Elevations of Two Sides of the Obelisk...
Category
1820s French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
19th Century Grand Tour Micro Mosaic Tablet with Roman Views
Located in Kastrup, DK
19th century Micro Mosaic tablet with five oval panels with Roman views, approx. 1860-1880.
Very fine tesserae and small briquettes of semi-precious stone...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Stone, Marble
Watercolor of St. Paul's Cathedral in London Sergio Manfredi, Italian
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
Watercolor A view of St. Paul's Cathedral in London- Sergio Manfredi (1932-?) Italian painter, Signed and dated "S. Manfredi 1958" lower left and inscribed "London St. Paul's Cathedr...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
Three Marble Vases and a Sarcophagus, Etching by G.B. Piranesi
Located in Bradenton, FL
The central vase is carved with a priest and worshippers sacrificing the suovetaurilia (a boar, a ram and a bull), and is placed on a sarcophagus guarded by winged sphinxes. The left...
Category
18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
Italian Grand Tour Style Signed Landscape
Located in Roma, IT
Important watercolor painting representing a beautiful view of Rome with the Tiber, Castel Sant'Angelo and the dome of St. Peter's in the background.
A typical work in the vein of th...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood, Paper
Pair of Large Grand Tour Engravings by Pierre Bouillon
Located in Richmond, London
Two exquisite and rare etchings of ancient sculptures by Pierre Bouillon (1776-1831), from his book Musée des antiques, published in Paris between 1811...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
Late 19th Century Romantic Still Life of Flowers & Fruit, Grand Tour Period
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Romantic still life of flowers and fruit from the late Victorian Grand Tour Period. Although unsigned, this oil on original canvas has two intriguing "R" insignias, on the gold chate...
Category
Late 19th Century Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paint
19th Century Italian Grand Tour Gouache Painting
Located in Bradenton, FL
Neapolitan School, 19th century grand tour landscapes gouache painting on canvas. Mounted in fine period gold gilt frame.
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paint
Views of Erupting Volcano, Gouache on Paper, late 19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
The pair of gouaches with views of a volcanic eruption during the day and the night
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
Victor Forabosco, Architectural design of a Greek Temple, Watercolor on Paper
Located in Dresden, DE
GREEK TEMPLE, ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
Victor Forabosco (end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century)
1895/6
Watercolour on paper, 50 x 97 cm
Victor Forabosco was a master builder, ...
Category
Late 19th Century German Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
Grand Tour Style 20th Century Venetian Canal Oil Painting
Located in Queens, 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 Wall Decorations
Materials
Canvas
Mammoth Photograph of Notre Dame
Located in Rochester, NY
Grand tour 19th century photograph of Notre Dame Cathedral, late 19th century. Matted. Unframed.
Category
19th Century Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
Fine Late 18th Century Grand Tour Marble Tondo of Athena
Located in Pease pottage, West Sussex
A fine late 18th Century Grand Tour marble tondo of Athena. Italy Circa 1780.
Category
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Marble
Pair of 19th Century Gouache Naples Scene Paintings
Located in New York, NY
A pair of large scale Neapolitan “Grand Tour”gouaches depicting the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius having wooden frames with a marbleized finish. circa 1850.
Category
1850s European Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paint, Canvas
Italian Gouache Depicting a View of Posillipo from Naples, 19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
The brightly colored gouache with fine details in foreground.
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Gouache
Ecclesiastical 19th Century White Statuary Marble Portrait Roundel
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
A very finely worked antique white statuary marble roundel depicting a profile portrait of a Roman figure in religious dress. Originating from mid 19th century Italy, this large marb...
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Marble, Statuary Marble
Camillo de Vito, View from Naples Pier, Gouache, c.1820s
Located in Savannah, GA
Camillo de Vito
(Italian, active 1794-1845)
Veduta del Molo di Napoli (view from the Naples pier), circa 1820s.
A gouache on paper depicting a sailin...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Glass, Fruitwood, Paint, Paper
A Fine Early 19th C. Grand Tour Portrait by Friedrich Moosbrugger, Dated 1827
By Friedrich Moosbrugger
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A finely executed & extremely charming 19th century portrait of young Italian woman, probably that of Vittoria Caldoni.
Vittoria Caldoni was an Italian woman from Albano most favoured as a sitter by several of the German artists working in Italy at this time.
Oil on canvas, signed and dated 1827 bottom right, re-lined and set within a carved and ebonized frame.
Canvas dimensions, 23.75” H x 18” W. Framed dimensions, 27.25" high x 21.75" wide x 2" deep.
Artist Bio: Friedrich Moosbrugger (1804 - 1830) was a German genre...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Canvas, Wood
M.L. Monteith, Signed Modern Oil on Panel, Scene from Verdi's Opera "Othello"
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A dramatic and colorful Oil on Board in a custom Gilt wood frame. Figures on a monumental staircase. Signed lower right, labelled and dedicated on verso. In a fine gilt frame.
Panel ...
Category
20th Century Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood
18th century Fine Italian Grand Tour gouache of Palladian Villa
Located in Seaford, GB
This fine 18th-century gouache on paper is a quintessential example of Grand Tour artistry, depicting an Italian Palladian villa rendered with architectural precision and classical r...
Category
Mid-18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paper
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 Wall Decorations
Materials
Belgian Black Marble
Antique 19th century Carved Marble Circular Plaque
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An antique 19th century carved marble circular plaque depicting a philosopher.
This Italian sculpture is expertly carved in white statuary marble showcasing a Grand Tour style.
A skeleton head...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Marble
Set of Six 19th Century Grand Tour Gouaches
Located in Shipston-On-Stour, GB
A rare of 6 mid C19th classical Grand Tour gouaches of unusual scenes depicting Naples, Pompéi and Vesuvius, with broad gold slips and ebonised reeded frames. Circa 1860
Largest 4 - ...
Category
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paint
Vintage Grand Tour Gladiator and Horse Fiberglass Relief
Located in west palm beach, FL
A fantastic vintage Grand Tour fiberglass relief. A large molded gladiator medallion on a wrapped wood plinth. Large gilt rings on top. Acquired from...
Category
Mid-20th Century North American Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Fiberglass, Wood
19th Century Italian Marble Plaque of George Slaying the Dragon, C.1870
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Antique 19th Century Italian Grand Tour marble relief depicting St George slaying the Dragon.
England has always been one of the leading countries in terms of travelling and explori...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Marble
Pair of Bernard De Montfaucon Paris 1719 L'antiquite Original Grand Tour Prints
By Bernard de Montfaucaon
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely pair of original copper plate prints dating to 1719 by Bernard De Montfauucon of Paris.
Dom Bernard de Montfaucon, O.S.B. (French: [d? m?~fok?~]; 13 January 1655 – 21 December 1741) was a French Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He was an astute scholar who founded the discipline of palaeography, as well as being an editor of works of the Fathers of the Church. He is regarded as one of the founders of the modern discipline of archaeology
Montfaucon was born on 13 January 1655 in the Castle of Soulatgé, a small village in the southern town of Corbières, then in the ancient Province of Languedoc, now in the modern Department of Aude. Other sources claimed his birth date is in 16 January, the most accepted date. After one year he was moved to the Castle of Roquetaillade, residence of his family. When he was seven, he was sent to Limoux, to the college run by the Fathers of Christian Doctrine
Montfaucon served in the French army as a volunteer and participated in the Franco-Dutch War of 1673. He was a captain of grenadiers and made two campaigns under the command of Marshall Turenne, participated in the Battle of Herbsthausen and fell ill in Saverne in Alsace. Because of his infectious illness he made a vow to Our Lady of Marceille to give one hundred livres to her sanctuary in Limoux and to become a monk, if he was able to return to his country as a result of her intervention.
After the death of Montfaucon's father at the Château de Roquetaillade, in 1675 he entered the novitiate of the Benedictine monastery of Bream in Toulouse. There he learned several ancient languages: Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean, Syriac, and Coptic.
In 1687 Montfaucon was called to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and he started to work on an edition of the works of the Greek Church...
Category
1710s French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Wood, Paper
Pair of 19th Century Gouches of Naples
Located in Shipston-On-Stour, GB
An early C19th pair of finely detailed gouaches, depicting unusual scenes of the bays of Naples and Sorrento. In charming light colours and excellent condition. Circa 1820.
H: 45 cm...
Category
1820s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Materials
Paint
Grand Tour wall decorations for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Grand Tour wall decorations for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Late 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage wall decorations created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, more furniture and collectibles, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with paper, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Grand Tour wall decorations made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and United Kingdom pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original wall decorations, popular names associated with this style include F. Barbedienne Foundry, Majolica Manufactory of Karlsruhe, and zuber. 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 wall decorations 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 $26,000 while the average work can sell for $1,606.