Georgian Style

There is a wonderul secret out there and that is that clean lines and subtle detail are the pinicle of fashion. Well I have to say it's been the case for over two hundred years.

Georgain England was so very different from today. There was a different morality that was constrained and supressed by the moral elite of Victorian England. What would be deemed vulgar today would have been common place in Georgian England, for instance belching at the dinner table!

Georgian style is all about clean lines and stunning detail. Carefully sourced materials constructed by the finest craftsmen all go to make the Georgian era one to marvel at. It is difficult to understand that when buying Georgian furniture you are buying a wholly hand constructed piece, even the vaneers are hand sawn. Broadly speaking there are three main areas of furniture, high furniture for high class properties, country furniture for large country houses and basic furniture used by the lower classes, inns and taverns.

A classic mantra has always been 'buy pieces with little or no restoration'. The reality is however that for those pieces at the top of the market there has been little or no change to the piece since it was made. However the lower the piece is the more adaptations made. Often country pieces have had a number of sets of handles. It's a matter of simple economics that new fashionable handles are cheaper than a new fashionable chest of drawers. I love a piece that has a past and a story. What is to look out for are those delibarate changes made to enhance the recent value of a piece. Marriages, new tops, conversions etc need to be avoided if possible.

Have a look at this stunning centre table made by the famous English cabinet makers Gillows of Lancaster. The table dates from circa 1798 and features in Estimate Sketch Book number 68. It is constructed in mahogany with lacewood veneers, detailed with ebony and boxwood. Lacewood was an exotic veneer shipped back from Australia on transporter ships. It has a silky finish and a wonderful medial ray detail. It is sometimes known as Botany Bay Oak refering to the the point of exit.

The wash stand is great example of how form and function come together. The piece has all the hallmarks of a Georgian piece, restrained turnings to the legs, simple yet decorative handles and best of all, hand made with fine materials.

Style was not confined to wooden furniture. The simple lines and wonderful stylings flow through ceramics, metalwares and clocks. It is interesting to me that later attempts by the Victorians and Edwardians to recreate Georgian style led to a gilding of the lilly. Often Victorian and Edwardian pieces based on Georgian design have 'extra'. They will be overly inlayed or have pieces of additional metalware added. All of which detract from the splendid understatement of the period pieces.

Georgian furniture is a true style statement, I have found many client these days are buying one or two high quality pieces to act as central feature. They have the added bonus of a residual value that stays with the piece.

Have a look at www.timberhillgallery.co.uk