The term Grand Tour refers to the educational journeys which, for several centuries, drew young aristocrats out into Europe to encounter the continent’s great cultures. The journey was a means of refining one’s taste, knowledge, and identity – a passage into cultivated adult life.

This themed auction brings together objects that reflect the era and its fascination with Europe’s high cultures: artworks depicting the places and subjects a traveller might encounter, objects that may have been brought home as mementoes of the journey, and creations inspired by the civilisations that were studied and admired.

Here, antique references, classical ideals, romanticised ruins, and the period’s hunger for history, discovery, and learning come together.

The auction offers a journey through time, taste, and enlightenment.