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Bench

1825–50
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, Shakers (or United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing) united on this bench for religious services. In the late eighteenth through the nineteenth centuries, the Shakers established utopian communities that were progressive for the period in their practice of gender and social equality. The streamlined form of this bench also reflects the Shakers’ interests in asceticism and efficiency in the face of amplified American consumerism and industrialization.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bench
  • Maker: United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”) (American, active ca. 1750–present)
  • Date: 1825–50
  • Geography: Probably made in Hancock, Massachusetts, United States
  • Culture: American, Shaker
  • Medium: Pine
  • Dimensions: 26 1/2 x 94 x 12 in. (67.3 x 238.8 x 30.5 cm)
  • Credit Line: Friends of the American Wing Fund, 1966
  • Object Number: 66.10.2
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)
1820–60
Bonnet, United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”) American, Straw, American, Shaker
Bonnet
United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)
1800–1900
Knitted rug, United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”) American, Wool, knitted, braided and woven, American, Shaker
Knitted rug
United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)
1870–1900
Peg Board
United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)
1830–40

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