19th c. Italian Alabaster and Marble Saint Cecilia Catacombs Souvenir, Italy
ABOUT
Shown with life size hand model.
- CREATOR Unknown. Rome, Italy.
- DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1800s.
- MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Hand carved Alabaster, Marble.
- CONDITION Good. Wear consistent with age and use.
- DIMENSIONS H 2 in. W 4 in. D 2 in.
HISTORY
The souvenir trade in Rome during the 19th and early 20th centuries was a booming commercial industry driven by The Grand Tour, a traditional rite of passage for wealthy European and American elites.
As transportation advanced in the 19th century, travel to Italy expanded beyond the ultra-wealthy to a rising middle class of global tourists. Visitors flocked to major historic landmarks, local churches, and underground ruins like the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus. This surge in visitors created an immense market for physical mementos to prove one's worldly travels, taste, and education.
To feed this demand, a massive network of dedicated craft workshops opened across Florence, Rome, and Naples. Local stone cutters, sculptors, and mosaicists specialized in turning out high-quality, scaled-down replicas of classical antiquities and Renaissance masterpieces. Materials were specifically chosen to look premium while remaining small enough for tourists to easily pack into luggage trunks.
