Shaker Sewing Desk
Mount Lebanon, NY | c. 1870
Cherry, pine, and poplar with bone escutcheon and pins
Original stain with subsequent clear over-finish
41 ⅜” h. x 32 ¾” w x 22 ¾” d.
Provenance: Abner Sherman Haight, New Lebanon, NY; Charles Sherman Haight, New Lebanon, NY; Harriet Shutt, Lancaster; Kenneth Haight Shutt, Pasadena, CA; Geoffrey Mann Shutt, Truckee, CA; Suzanne Courcier and Robert W. Wilkins, Austerlitz, NY
Illustrated: Timothy D. Rieman, The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2003), p. 179
The Shaker sewing desk is a classic and sought-after form. This rare example, which descended in a New Lebanon, NY-based family, was created in the third quarter of the 19th century when the work of Shaker Sisters—the production and sale of Fancy Goods—was vital to the fiscal viability of the Shakers. Illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture (2003), the form is relatively typical of a Mount Lebanon sewing desk; however, it has an unusual square-to-round transition on the leg and a horizontal bone escutcheon. The bone buttons on the legs just below the perimeter of the base are thought to have held a fabric bag that hung under the desk—a feature that was popular in the Federal period.
Overall, this Sewing Desk is in fine, original condition with the following minor restoration: the drawer pulls have been replaced, as has one bone knob on the back of a rear leg, and the lower-left drawer runner. The lower-left drawer separator facing strip on the upper case has been missing for much of the life of the piece. It retains its original stain and varnish surface with a subsequent clear over-finish that was applied at a later date.
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914-763-8144
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