Grand Tour Wall Decorations
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 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Canvas
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Terracotta
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Plaster
1820s English Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Giltwood, Paper
19th Century Indian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Enamel
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Giltwood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Giltwood
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Belgian Black Marble, Breccia Marble, Bronze
1990s British Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Resin, Fiberglass
18th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Mid-20th Century American Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Early 19th Century Greek Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Marble, Statuary Marble
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint, Giltwood, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood, Paint
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Giltwood, Paper
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Canvas, Wood, Paint
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood, Paint
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Canvas, Wood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wool, Canvas, Paper
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Bronze, Ormolu
Mid-19th Century Irish Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Marble
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Linen, Plaster, Wood, Paper
Early 1900s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Bronze
Early 18th Century French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Glass, Fruitwood, Paint, Paper
Early 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Giltwood
Late 19th Century African Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century American Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint
1830s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint
1820s Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Masonite, Paint
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Belgian Black Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Giltwood, Paint
1850s European Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint, Canvas
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Brass
Mid-20th Century Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century North American Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Fiberglass, Wood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Marble
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Oak, Paper
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paint
Late 20th Century Unknown Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Paper
1710s French Antique Grand Tour Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper