Shaker Cherry and Maple Mirror Holder with Mirror

Description:

Shaker Cherry and Maple Mirror Holder with Mirror, molded mitered wood mirror frame with reddish-brown stain, supported on a maple backboard with two peg holes and molded cherry shelf support with three brass pins on the front edge for hanging small items, overall ht. 25 1/2, wd. 14 in.

Literature: Shaker Furniture, plate 7; Religion in Wood, p. 87; The Magazine Antiques, May 1979.

Exhibitions: Possibly Whitney Museum, 1935, #24.

Shaker life was extremely hierarchical, and all members were expected to follow their lead, from the rank-and-file member up to the family Elder or Eldress, to the Ministry Elder and Eldress, and on to God. The "Millennial Laws," first instituted in 1821, regulated Shaker life. Although surely not adhered to at all times and places in the 200-year-plus history of the sect, they do provide insight into an ideal set of "best practices" (to use a modern term). In the 1845 revision of the Millennial Laws, mirrors are found in Section X: Orders concerning Furniture in Retiring Rooms: "One good looking glass, which ought not to exceed eighteen inches in length, and twelve in width, with a plain frame. A looking glass larger than this, ought never be purchased by Believers."

Estimate $1,500-2,500


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