Although Ray may have been singing about the Peach State, I would like to discuss the madness of King Georgian furniture.  In antique speak, “Georgian” is a catchall term referring to English (and sometimes American) pieces made during the three successive reigns of George I (1714 - 1727), George II (1727 - 1760), and crazy George III (1760 - 1820).  That is a 106 year period spanning from the Baroque to the Neoclassical. Early Georgian often refers to the Rococo and the reigns of George I and George II.  Although still heavily influenced by French style, Early Georgian interiors and furnishings reveal the growing sophistication of the English aristocracy who showed their good taste and social status with their beautifully furnished residences.  Early Georgian distills the essence of Englishness, tempering aristocratic pomp with the restraint that separates most British styles from the French.  The ball-and-claw foot, derived from an ancient Chinese image of a dragon holding a pearl, is a hallmark of Early Georgian furniture.  Representing the high point of English design, Late Georgian or George III style interiors fully embrace the symmetry and refinement of Neoclassicism.  Without assuming extravagant proportions and showing restraint against the French desire for ornamentation, legendary designers like Adam, Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton created a pervasive and enduring style that can hold its own with the very best of French Neoclassicism.  The claw-and-ball and cabriole leg is dropped in favor of strikingly slimmer, more tapered leg.  Although the term Georgian can be maddening because it represents over a hundred years of design, at least the terms Early Georgian (= Rococo) and Late Georgian (= Neoclassicism) can assist us in narrowing down this important period.

This Early Georgian side chair is a fine example of the English Rococo in the 1730s.  Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The shield-back side chair, illustrated in Late Georgian English pattern books by George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton, became one of the most popular American chair forms by the end of the eighteenth century.  Brooklyn Museum.