Oval Shaker Box

This large oval box with six “fingers” (the distinctive “swallowtail” projections that allow the wood to expand and contract without splitting) was probably made at the Shaker community in New Lebanon, New York, the sect’s main spiritual home throughout the 19th century. An outstanding example of its type, its size suggests that it may have been used to store a bonnet. Shakers made boxes for their own use and for sale to outsiders as a source of income. Between 1822 and 1836, the New Lebanon community alone made 24,500 boxes in various sizes and colors.