Shaker chair
Dateca. 1830
Label TextShaker furniture, and all other earthly goods, was made to last a millennium-or "to the day of Christ's second Appearing." The rear legs of this chair end in "tilters"-ball-shaped wood inserts with a flat base that are attached by leather thongs into hollows in the base of the legs. The round tilters preserved both the chair legs and the floor of the meetinghouse when the Believers leaned back in their chairs during worship services.
The Shaker religion and communal way of life was brought to America from Manchester, England, in 1774 by Ann Lee and seven of her followers. The Enfield New Hampshire Shaker Community, the makers of this chair, was one of nineteen larger communities that reached from Maine to Kentucky. It was active from 1793 until 1923.
The Shaker Society expected their furniture to be in use for a millennium, until the second coming of Christ. Because the Believers were known to lean back in their chairs during worship, a clever design for the back chair legs developed. The legs end in tilters, which are balls of wood with a flat base that are attached by leather thongs to hollows in the base of the legs. This design preserved the end of the chair leg when it was tilted back and kept the wooden floor of the meeting house from being gouged.
The Shaker Society expected their furniture to be in use for a millennium, until the second coming of Christ. Because the Believers were known to lean back in their chairs during worship, a clever design for the back chair legs developed. The legs end in tilters, which are balls of wood with a flat base that are attached by leather thongs to hollows in the base of the legs. This design preserved the end of the chair leg when it was tilted back and kept the wooden floor of the meeting house from being gouged.
Object number2000.47
Photo CreditPhoto: Susan Cole
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum in collaboration with the Shaker Museum and Library, Old Chatham, New York, "Creating Perfection: Shaker Objects and Their Affinities", October 5, 2000 - April 29, 2001, (10/5/2000-4/29/2001)
Credit LineDecorative Arts Acquisition Fund
Dimensions41 1/2 x 18 x 14 in. (105.4 x 45.7 x 35.6 cm)
MediumMaple and birch, red-brown stain; woven taped seat (top seat dates ca. 1850; original hand-woven seat below, with scatter pattern, ca. 1830)
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