Historic Collection of Shaker Furniture Up for Auction

The striking, minimalist furniture of the Shaking Quakers, more commonly known as the Shakers, has inspired a dedicated following among design enthusiasts and historians alike since their heyday in the mid-nineteenth century. Edward and Faith Andrews were two such followers of the small, isolated group, whose interest in the Shakers developed into a full-scale intellectual obsession that resulted in eight books and over four decades of tireless promotion. On June 15, 2014, Skinner Inc. will offer the Andrews Shaker Collection at auction in Boston, showcasing a vast assortment of the Shakers’ innovative furniture and other objects.

Although they are renowned for their well-made, simply designed furniture, baskets, and boxes, the history and culture of the Shakers is equally as interesting as their surviving work. The group, which has all but died out, was a small and radical collection of men and women who followed a strict set of rules including fervent spirituality, an ascetic, celibate lifestyle (hence the dwindling population), and a penchant for ecstatic movement and dancing. Their furniture mirrored this stringent lifestyle in simply constructed, utilitarian pieces that reject any excessive ornamentation as sinful, focusing instead on quality, functionality, and overall form.