Authentic antique Shaker furniture is hard to come by, but not exceedingly rare. “Shaker style” describes furnishings and interiors that are both warm and simple, centered on unpretentious wooden chairs, tables and cabinets without ornament or embellishment.
The term derives from the popular name for an all-but-vanished American religious sect, whose members crafted modest household furniture and objects as part of their belief in purposeful living and simplicity in all things.
Members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing — called Shakers, derisively, because they writhed and danced in religious ecstasy during worship — arrived in the United States from England in 1774. Within 50 years, the sect had established 19 self-sufficient communities from Maine to Kentucky, where they lived pure, humble and industrious lives.
The furniture and objects the Shakers made reflected their strict rules of behavior. Pieces such as ladder- and slat-back chairs and trestle tables were painstakingly crafted from native woods like maple and cherry, using traditional methods such as mortise-and-tenon and dovetail joinery and lathe turning. They employed strong, straight lines and symmetrical proportions, and decoration of any kind — carving, veneers, inlays — was prohibited, as it would encourage the sins of pride and vanity.
The Shakers movement included some 6,000 members at its peak in the 1860s, but the group practiced celibacy and could attempt to sustain their flock only by recruiting new adherents. Modernity proved too alluring. Today only one tiny Shaker community, in Maine, still exists, though the sect’s heritage is preserved at several historical sites.
To support their communities, the Shakers sold furniture to outsiders, who appreciated its superb quality. While the “Shaker style” label is today given to many plain, simple wooden pieces, it should also denote superior construction and solid materials. As elements in interior design, Shaker furnishings work best in a quiet decor. Modest pieces such as these can become lost among more ornate works. The style is most suitable to a country home — although a Shaker chair or cabinet can make a striking counterpoint in a modernist, urban setting.
Shaker furniture and objects have a deep appeal for their warmth, honesty and graceful simplicity, which make them welcome almost anywhere.
Find antique Shaker furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage No. 07 by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Steel
Assemblage No. 08 - Found Object Minimalist Welded Steel Wall Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Steel
Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Steel
Assemblage No. 10, Found Object Minimalist Welded Steel Wall Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Steel
Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage No. 3 by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Steel
Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage No. 05 by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Steel
"Pig" Found Object Sculpture by Leo Sewell
By Leo Sewell
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Leo Sewell (b. 1945) is an American "found object" artist. His assemblages of recycled material are in over 40 museums and in private collections worldwide. Sewell was born in Ann...
Metal
Leo Sewell "Found Objects" Cat 1998
By Leo Sewell
Located in New York, NY
Leo Sewell (b. 1945) is an American "found object" artist. His creations of recycled material are in numerous museums and in private collections worldwide. Sewell was born in Annapo...
Composition
Brutalist Hanging Wall Sculpture by Bill Heise, Found Objects
By Bill Heise
Located in Buffalo, NY
Brutalist hanging wall sculpture by Bill Heise. Found objects, hand executed from found objects, welded The pieces are crafted from turn-of-the-century farm equipment collected from the fields of Vermont, maritime parts salvaged from around the Bay Area, and railroad components, antique tools, and other vintage metal found throughout America. The delicate lines and whimsical nature of Heise sculptures often defy the rugged origins of each component part. Railroad spikes, plough discs, pitchforks, shovel blades, and a myriad of other parts are transformed into birds in flight, cows out to pasture, tropical fish, and a variety of other wildlife forms. And there's always an interesting story behind each piece, be it the eighty something farmer who helped me retrieve equipment from the "back forty," frozen hands from digging a hay rake...
Metal, Steel
Whimsical Found Object Mixed Media Sculpture on Wooden Finial
By Fay Sciarra
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Delightfully whimsical found object sculpture with vintage elephant and clown on top of a rustic carved wood finial, with bits and pieces of crazy quilt to create a one of a kind wor...
Iron
$450
H 19 in W 5 in D 5 in
Contemporary Organic Stoneware Sculpture, Handcrafted Minimalist Ceramic Object
Located in Istanbul, TR
This contemporary sculptural ceramic object is handcrafted in stoneware and finished with a natural sand-textured surface that highlights its organic form. The piece features a fluid...
Stoneware
$95,000 / set
H 84.25 in W 24 in D 2.25 in
Incredible Pair of Found Objects Sculpture Panels After Louise Nevelson
Located in Atlanta, GA
A dramatic pair of sculptural Found Objects panels, circa 1970. Cream painted wood frame construction with a heavy plywood back. Varying sections comprised of intricately arranged vintage furniture parts, architectural salvage and wood letters...
Wood, Plywood
$380Sale Price|20% Off
H 7.5 in W 25 in D 19.5 in
Modernist Abstract Steel & Brass Welded Wall Sculpture
Located in San Diego, CA
Really cool and unique abstract solid steel with brass welded rods wall sculpture can be hung in many positions. it can be used as a wine rack.
Brass, Steel
Large Welded Steel Assemblage Sculpture, 20th Century
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
One of a kind welded steel assemblage sculpture hands crafted in California in the 20th Century. The sculpture is made up of straight and bent steel tubes that resemble car parts. Th...
Steel
Chris Duncan Welded Steel Sculpture
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Chris Duncan Welded Steel Sculpture "Smoke" Artist signed and dated Original Allan Stone Gallery Label
Steel
$9,500 / item
H 60 in W 14 in D 14 in
Custom Minimalist Sculpture Welded Steel One Of A Kind Wooden Pedestal
Located in East Hampton, NY
Welded steel cube atop wooden mount completing this one of a kind sculpture. Antique rusted patina with clear coat finish Lacquered wooden pedestal mount.
Metal
$495
H 17 in W 16 in D 5 in
Abstract Industrial Found Object Metal Table Sculpture, Post Modern Sottsass Era
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Group
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A great Industrial material sculpture including a huge crescent wrench among other various mechanical parts. Extremely heavy and well made. Made by a local Philadelphia artist, unsig...
Steel
$716Sale Price|20% Off
H 9.13 in W 9.13 in D 1.75 in
Architectural Assemblage Still Life Bronze Welded Wall Sculpture Found Object
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Original, Contemporary and one of a kind wall sculpture. A still life study in color, form, composition and texture. A bronze panel, oxidi...
Bronze
Sold
H 13 in W 9 in D 8.5 in
Barn House Structure, Welded Steel Decorative Object Made with Salvaged Steel
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This is a welded steel sculpture made by furniture creator Jim Rose. It is created from salvaged steel panels left over from his larger projects. These sculptures reference traditional American Folk Art barn house...
Steel