Shaker Double Counter with Drawers (c. 1825)
A long pine Shaker work counter from about 1825 with banks of drawers on both sides, designed so that two people could work and store tools from opposite faces.
Design characteristics
Shaker workrooms used long counters with drawers for sewing, tailoring and other tasks, and this double counter opens from both sides. Its banks of graduated drawers with small turned knobs are a direct ancestor of the modern kitchen island. The construction is simple and the proportions careful, with drawer sizes that step down from bottom to top. For a kitchen or workshop island today, it is a perfect model.
Classification
- Style
- Shaker
- Category
- Kitchen Cabinets
- Material
- Pine
- Motifs
- Built in drawers
- Date
- ca. 1825
- Maker or designer
- United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)
- Recorded medium
- Pine, applewood, pearwood
- Dimensions
- 32 3/4 x 68 x 17 1/2 in. (83.2 x 172.7 x 44.5 cm)
- Evidence
- Documented historical object
Architectural context
Plain panels, peg rails and built-in storage made with exacting care. Shaker communities, United States · c. 1780–1900.
