Dining Table
Medium
Pine, maple, basswood
Dimensions
28 1/2 x 31 1/4 x 96 1/2 in. (72.4 x 79.4 x 245.1 cm)
Classification
Dining Table
Culture
American, Shaker
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Friends of the American Wing Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.10.1
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this Shaker dining table (1800–1825) embodies the austere elegance of the United Society ofievers in Christ’s Secondaring, a celibate religious community founded in 18th-century England and flourishing in American utopian settlements like those in New York and New England. Crafted from humble yet durable pine, maple, and basswood—sourced locally for practicality—the table measures a generous 28½ x 31¼ x 96½ inches, designed to serve communal meals in Shaker "family" dwellings where up to a dozen members gathered. Shaker furniture...