Gather Up the Fragments

M a y 2 0 – A u g u s t 2 1 , 2 0 11

U p p e r- L e v e l G a l l e r i es

G ather up the fragments that

remain, that nothing be lost.

John 6:12

The Shakers posted these words in their dining rooms as a reminder to eat everything on their plates and to waste nothing. Pioneering Shaker scholars and collectors Edward Deming (Ted) and Faith Young Andrews quoted this verse in their seminal 1937 book Shaker

Furniture in a descriptive caption written for a photograph of a communal dining table. This simple example of the Andrewses’ awareness of how the material and spiritual worlds intertwined in Shaker society is an apt metaphor for the couple’s life mission and work: beginning in 1923 and continuing until Faith Andrews’s death in 1990, they strove to “gather up the fragments” of Shaker culture. The Shakers trace their beginnings to Manchester, England, in 1747. They called themselves The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, but soon became known as Shakers because of the trembling, whirling, and shaking that affected them during their spiritually ecstatic worship services. As millennialists, they believed that Christ’s second coming was realized in their leader, Ann Lee, whom they called Mother Ann. Because they were misunderstood and persecuted in England, Mother Ann made the

monumental decision in 1774 to lead eight Shaker converts

Shaker-made material is

on a journey to America. Together they sought the freedom

indeed celebrated for

to live, work, and worship according to their main religious

its simplicity. Beauty is

tenets: celibacy, communal life, and confession of sin. The

found in proportion,

Shakers also believed in racial and gender equality, simplicity,

line, and materials

and pacifism. In America, they dedicated their lives to

rather than in what the

creating a working “heaven on earth” amidst the boundless

Shakers considered to

opportunities presented by the New World.

be distracting, even decadent, superfluous

Mother Anne and her followers soon established a place to

decoration. Shakers also

live in communal brotherhood and sisterhood in Watervliet,

valued functionality, in

New York, northwest of Albany, and also at nearby New

a manner similar to the

Lebanon. This was a time of great religious fervor in

more modern principle

America, and Mother Ann successfully gathered many

“form follows function.”

converts to the movement during a series of missionary

Because one might be

journeys throughout New York and New England. A third

creating an object that

Shaker community—Hancock Shaker Village, once called The

could ultimately be used

City of Peace—was formed in 1790 in Massachusetts. The

by an angel, superb

Shaker population reached its peak in the mid-nineteenth

craftsmanship was

century with an estimated four to five thousand believers

highly valued as well.

living in nineteen villages in New York, New England,

Simple design, efficient

Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. Today, a very small Shaker

utility, and quality construction are characteristics that

community remains active at Sabbathday Lake in Maine.

continue to make Shaker material appealing.

The religious beliefs of the Shakers were evident in all

This comprehensive exhibition includes more than

aspects of their lives. In an effort to create heaven on

two hundred objects—furniture, drawings, textiles,

earth Shakers withdrew from the world and created self-

baskets, and tools—in an attempt to “gather up the

sufficient communities. They made their own furniture

fragments” of the Andrewses’ legacy and to honor

and clothes, grew their own food, cared for their sick, and

their tremendous contributions to understanding and

educated their young as much as possible. Their religious

preserving Shaker culture.

code, the Millennial Laws, dictated everything from behavior to design: “furniture of dwelling rooms, among Believers, should be plain in style, and unembellished by stamps, flowers, paintings, and gildings of any kind.”

Front cover: Oval Boxes, Mount Lebanon, NY and Canterbury, NH, ca. 1840. Andrews Collection, Hancock Shaker Village. Photo by Michael Fredericks. Interior images, in order of appearance: Hannah Cahoon. The Tree of Life, Hancock, MA, 1854; Wall Clock, Mount Lebanon, NY, 1840; and Wooden Pail, Mount Lebanon, NY, 19th century. Andrews Collection, Hancock Shaker Village. Photos by Michael Fredericks. Back cover: Round Stone Barn, Hancock, MA, ca. 1884. Collection of Hancock Shaker Village

Glossary of Shaker and Decorative Arts Terms Believer: a covenanted member of the Shaker sect. Brother/Sister: the mode of address of the male and female rank and file members of the Shaker faith. Covenant: the legal document that established a convert’s spiritual commitment to the faith and the transfer of his or her private property to the joint interest of the United Society. Deacon/Deaconess: male and female members appointed by the family ministry leaders to supervise such temporal affairs as managing the farm, kitchen, garden, orchards, and other areas of daily life. Dovetail: a strong mechanical joint of interlocking pins and tails on the ends of flat boards used in the construction of boxes, case pieces, and drawers. Dwelling: name of the building in which the brothers and sisters in a Shaker family lived. It contained retiring, dining and meeting rooms, a bakery, and a kitchen. Elder/Eldress: two male and two female members appointed as leaders to supervise spiritual matters. In the Shaker hierarchy there were lead ministry elders at Mount Lebanon, bishopric elders, and family elders.

Escutcheon: wood, metal, bone, or ivory plate surrounding a keyhole that protects the surface and adds ornamental detail. Family: the smallest Shaker social unit, consisting of up to one hundred members. It was governed by a quartet of elders and eldresses. Finial: in Shaker furniture, the decorative turned element used on the upper ends of rear chair posts. Most Shaker communities made chairs with distinctive finial forms. Joint: a connection between pieces of wood, metal, or the like, often reinforced with nails, screws, or glue. Meetinghouse: the building constructed for worship in each community. The first floor consisted of one large room designed to accommodate the Believers’ dances of worship. The four ministry leaders occupied the second-floor apartments. Millennial Laws: a series of regulations assembled in 1821 that dealt primarily with the proper relations between members and with members’ duties to leaders. Ministry: the governing body of a bishopric, consisting of two elders and two eldresses appointed by the lead ministry at Mount Lebanon. Molding: a shaped edge of a

furniture or structural surface (integral) or a strip of wood placed on a piece of furniture or structure (applied) to conceal joins and/or to add decoration. Mortise: 1) The rectangular cavity cut into a piece of wood to accept the corresponding projecting tenon to form a joint; 2) a hole cut into a piece of wood to fit a lock or a hinge. Peg rail: a functional, yet decorative addition to Shaker interiors, consisting of a narrow board holding turned pins affixed to walls six feet above the floor. It was used for hanging clothing, chairs, candlesticks, and cleaning equipment. Primary wood: the type of wood or woods used on the visible surfaces of a piece of furniture. Secondary wood: an inexpensive wood used in the construction of furniture parts such as shelves, drawer interiors, and backboards that are not seen. Spindles: rodlike vertical elements that might form the back of a chair or settee. Splay: the angling of legs outward from their more common vertical orientation between the tabletop and the floor.

Trustee: two male and two female members appointed by the elders in each family to oversee business affairs. They often lived apart from the community and resided in the Trustees’ Office, where all financial dealings with the world were transacted. Turning: the shaping of chair or table legs on a lathe. Taken from: Timothy D. Rieman and Jean M. Burks. The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture. Library of Congress, 1993 and http://www.furnishingsguide. com/glossary and www.dictionary.com

Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection was organized by Hancock Shaker Village,Pittsfield, MA. The tour was organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by:

919 Broadway Nashville, TN 37206 Fristcenter.org