Wooden Shaker Picnic Basket. Stamped on underside. Vintage reproduction. 

Condition: Excellent, and usable. 

Size: 15 1/4 x 13 x 15 in. 

#3518 . 

The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a millenarian restorationist Christian sect founded around 1747 in England, and then officially organized in the United States in the 1780s. They were initially known as “Shaking Quakers” because of their ecstatic behavior during worship services. Espousing egalitarian ideals, women took on spiritual leadership roles alongside men, including founding leaders such as Jane Wardley, Ann Lee, and Lucy Wright. Facing relentless persecution in England, the Shakers emigrated and settled in colonial America, first at Watervliet, New York (present-day Colonie) in 1774. They practice a celibate and communal utopian lifestyle, pacifism, uniform charismatic worship, and their model of equality of the sexes, which they institutionalized in their society in the late 1780s. They are also known for their simple living, architecture, technological innovation, spiritual music, and furniture. During the mid-19th Century, an Era of Manifestations resulted in a period of dances, gift drawings, and gift songs inspired by spiritual revelations. At its peak there were between 2,000 and 4,000 Shaker believers living in 18 major communities and numerous smaller (often short-lived) communities. External and internal societal changes in the mid- and late-19th Century resulted in the thinning of the Shaker community as members left or died with few converts to the faith to replace them. Their sexless lifestyle became less and less appealing to outsiders, and with no direct offspring to pass their beliefs on to, the faith almost became extinct by the 1920s, when there were only 12 Shaker communities remaining in the United States. As of 2019, there is only one active Shaker community remaining in the world, the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village near New Gloucester, Maine, with only two individuals left, although they are actively seeking a third. Consequently, many of the other Shaker settlements are now museums and monuments to the unique crafts and lifestyle they embodied. The Shakers focused on cleanliness and simplicity in all aspects of life and, among other things, had thorough cleaning routines in the home. Numerous companies that have focused on minimalism, including giants like Ikea, have continued to produce Shaker furniture and accessories according to the original drawings and artisanal methods, prized for their clean, simple lines and elegant timelessness.

Excellent, and usable.