Shaker craftsmen were highly skilled and their products were an expression of their worldview. Labor was a form of worship and it was the duty of each believer to live purely and to strive for perfection in everything they did.
Baskets in particular are coveted for their simple, utilitarian forms and durable construction. Shakers manufactured both utility baskets and “fancy-work” baskets; fancy baskets were sold in their shops alongside other everyday items such as brooms, bonnets, and chairs.
At its peak in 1867, Mount Lebanon produced 3,866 baskets in a single year. Basketmaking began to decline towards the end of the 19th century. The last basket woven by Shaker hands was made in 1958.
Today, basketmakers carry on the tradition of practical simplicity embodied in the Shaker style.
Durable beauty was an exhibition held at, and co-curated by, the Columbia County Historical Society, Kinderhook, NY, 2018.
Collections Manager
Sharon Duane Koomler is a Shaker scholar and traditional letterpress printer living in upstate New York. She has academic degrees in American Folklore from Indiana University and Western Kentucky University. Sharon has worked at Shaker Museums from Kentucky to New Hampshire as an educator, curator, consultant, and director. She has written and published on Shaker material culture and spirituality, and lectured widely on Shaker art, life, and belief. Sharon has a particular interest in the under-researched social aspects of Shaker life and ways in which Shakers practiced inclusion and intentionality.