Grand Tour Boxes
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.
Early 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Gold, Enamel
1950s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Boxes
Marble
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Steel
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Stone, Metal
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Slate, Bronze
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Marble, Bronze, Enamel
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Grand Tour Boxes
Stone, Brass
Late 20th Century Grand Tour Boxes
Velvet, Glass
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Cherry, Maple, Nutwood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Stone, Silver
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Brass
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Boxes
Leather, Burl
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Boxes
Agate, Malachite, Onyx, Marble, Slate
19th Century German Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Silver
Early 19th Century Vatican Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Metal
Mid-19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Brass
1890s French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Enamel, Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Carrara Marble, Metal
1920s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Boxes
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Bronze
19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Mahogany
Late 19th Century British Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Hardwood, Pine
Early 20th Century French Grand Tour Boxes
Brass
Late 18th Century English Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Pine
Early 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Birdseye Maple, Walnut
Early 19th Century Unknown Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Wood
1940s European Vintage Grand Tour Boxes
Wood
19th Century Danish Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Walnut
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Boxes
Sterling Silver, Enamel
20th Century Italian Grand Tour Boxes
Marble
1920s Italian Vintage Grand Tour Boxes
Alabaster
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Grand Tour Boxes
Stone, Brass
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Stone, Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Belgian Black Marble, Bronze
19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Sterling Silver
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Crystal, Ormolu
20th Century Indian Grand Tour Boxes
Lapis Lazuli
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Boxes
Marble
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Boxes
Onyx
Mid-20th Century Italian Grand Tour Boxes
Agate, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Alabaster