Baskets could be found everywhere in Shaker communities. They were found in dwelling houses and wash houses holding dirty and clean laundry; in fields and orchards for carrying fruits, vegetables, and grains; in saw mills for transporting chips, kindling, and sawdust to start fires; in carding mills and spin shops for holding raw wool, carded wool, and yarn; and in the hands of individuals as personal work baskets.
A number of baskets are clearly marked to designate where they belong. The “Z&” is thought to have meant the basket was used in building “Z” which may have referred to the sawmill, and the basket marked “SXX” is thought to have been used in the Sisters’ Workshop.
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.