Grand Tour Statues
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 Statues
Stone
Late 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Statues
Marble, Statuary Marble
Early 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Statues
Terracotta
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Statues
Terracotta
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
Mid-20th Century European Grand Tour Statues
Plaster
20th Century Grand Tour Statues
Resin, Fiberglass, Wood, Lacquer
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Alabaster
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Marble, Statuary Marble
20th Century English Grand Tour Statues
Limestone
1970s American Vintage Grand Tour Statues
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Statues
Limestone
Early 1900s Antique Grand Tour Statues
Terracotta
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Statues
Plaster
1830s French Antique Grand Tour Statues
Sandstone
1970s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Statues
Terracotta
1980s Vintage Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Statuary Marble
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Statues
Carrara Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Statues
Marble
20th Century English Grand Tour Statues
Iron
20th Century Chinese Grand Tour Statues
Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Antique Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Coral, Bronze
Late 19th Century European Antique Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
Late 20th Century Thai Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Marble, Bronze
20th Century European Grand Tour Statues
Composition
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Bronze
20th Century European Grand Tour Statues
Composition
20th Century European Grand Tour Statues
Composition
20th Century European Grand Tour Statues
Composition
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Statues
Marble