Shaker Built-In
Daten.d.
MediumButternut, pine and walnut wood
Dimensions106 × 96 1/4 × 22 in. (269.2 × 244.5 × 55.9 cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineLuda S. Piecka Fund
Object number2014.163
DescriptionThis monumental case of twenty-two drawers and six cupboards came to the museum directly from the Laundry/Wash House at the Enfield, Connecticut Shaker community. The drawer fronts and doors are made from butternut (or white walnut) trees located there while the drawer sides, runners, and interior shelves are made from local pine. The pulls, threaded into the drawer fronts, are made from black walnut.This piece was constructed in 1857 by the Shakers’ master craftsman, Grove Wright (1789-1861). The distinguishing feature of Brother Wright’s work is his use of tapered drawer sides with rounded top edges; this sets his work apart from his fellow workers. Over the more than 150 years since its construction, it remarkably was never altered and was removed from its site in 2014 because the building it was housed in was in danger of imminent collapse. The museum acquired the piece in 2015.
The drawers and cupboards were used for the storage of linens, towels, blankets, and other textiles that were laundered on the site and kept in this safe and convenient place for the appropriate seasonal use. It is now built into the museums’ walls as it was when still at the Enfield Shaker village.
On View
On view
19th century
