Georgian Wedgwood Basalt Plaques

• Basalt - Basalt is a hard, dense volcanic rock formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava, and makes up most of the earth's oceanic crust.
  
  However it is also the name given by Josiah Wedgwood in 1768 to a fine black unglazed porcelain which he called Wedgwood Black Basalt.
  
  Using this fine-grained stoneware he was able to produce copies of the newly excavated Etruscan pottery from Italy, with a lustrous and smooth, surface, and this new innovation proved to be a huge commercial success.
• Georgian - As an English stylistic period, Georgian is usually taken to cover the period from George I (1714) to the Regency of Prince George (1811-20), although the period from 1800 to 1830 is sometimes designated as the Regency period. During the Georgian period the great English cabinetmakers and designers such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Adam Sheraton etc., were all active.
  
  Therefore there isn't a single 'Georgian style' as such and to say something is 'Georgian', usually means it was made between 1714 and 1830. This assumes we discount George V and George VI, both being from the 20th century.
  
  The styles popular at the time of each reign were:
  
  George I (1714-1727) saw out the last years of the Baroque period.
  
  George II (1727-1760) reigned during the Rococo period.
  
  George III (1760-1820) saw the last gasp of the Rococo, all of the early Neo-Classic 'Adam style' and most of the later neo-Classic 'Regency style'.
  
  George IV (Prince Regent 1820-1830)encompassed the last of the 'Regency' style.
  
  William IV's reign (1830-1837) was something of a no man's land (stylistically) and he wasn't a 'George' anyway. He covered the last glimmerings of 'Regency' and the start of the 'Victorian' style.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Wedgwood (England), item types - plaques 77