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About Shaker Museum and Library

Past Loan Exhibitions

Loan Exhibition

An Eye Toward Perfection:
The Shaker Museum and Library

The Shaker Museum and Library in Old Chatham, NY holds the most important collection of Shaker materials in the world. With more than half obtained directly from Shakers, the collection exhibits remarkable original finishes, superb quality, comprehensive scope, and impeccable provenance. The Museum’s recent acquisition of the North Family property at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village unites the collection with the site that was once the center of all Shaker life.

An Eye Toward Perfection includes some of the best examples of objects that demonstrate Shaker principles of faith, community, industry, and design. Whether sacred or temporal, everything created by Shakers was done with the understanding that it reflected a commitment to earthly perfection. As a result of the Shakers’ constant interaction between the physical and spiritual worlds, the standards for objects they created in this world were set by standards of the next. Visit www.shakermuseumandlibrary.org.

Knitted Rug (detail).1895, Hancock, Massachusetts.  One of a half-dozen known rugs skillfully knittet by Elvira Hulett, this wool, cotton and linen rug seems to exemplify the opposit of Shaker "simplicity" in its intricate patterned design. Sister Elvira's work demonstrates the application of Shaker design skills in an attempt to reflect the Victorian styles of the day.

 Yellow Side Chair with Tilters. 1840, Mount Lebanon, N.Y. This typical maple ladder back chair has become an icon of Shaker Manufacture. This chair exhibits the Shaker's tilter button on the bottom of the back posts, designed to keep the post bottoms flat when the chair's user leans back.

 Blue Vest. 1850, Mount Lebanon, N.Y. This dark blue wool vest worb by Shaker Brothers during Sunday worship during the mid-19th century was part of an ensemble of blue and white meeting clothes that Shakers designed for a sense of spiritual purity. 

  Rocking Chair, adapted to become a Wheelchair. 1800-1820, Watervliet, N.Y. This early rocking chair of maple, oak, cherry, beech, and ash slint was adapted as a wheelchair with the addition of three wheels. One might consider this had been a favorite chair that was converted to accomodate changing special needs.