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| Fig 5. An example of Asymmetry: Sewing desk, Enfield, New Hampshire, c 1860 | Fig 6. An example of asymmetry: Counter with underhung drawer, Mount Lebanon, New York, c 1830 |
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Counters and sewing desks exemplify the most prominent of asymmetrical arrangements seen in Shaker work furniture. Often built as long horizontal cases, the counters present a highly organized though asymmetrical layout with different shapes placed on either side of the center of the piece. In a counter built by Grove Wright, for example (see fig. 4), a single cupboard door is positioned opposite a much wider bank of drawers. The opposing sections are balanced successfully despite the different horizontal dimensions given to each half. The arrangements of unequal parts are organized around an imaginary visual center line rather than a rigidly placed, geometrically accurate center line.
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| Fig 5. An example of Asymmetry: Sewing desk, Enfield, New Hampshire, c 1860 | Fig 6. An example of asymmetry: Counter with underhung drawer, Mount Lebanon, New York, c 1830 |
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The sewing desk, in particular, regularly displays an asymmetrical layout. In Benjamin Smith's desks (see pl. 183), the asymmetrically arranged lower storage unit contains three drawers 15 inches long next to four drawers measuring 7 1/2 inches wide. Sometimes one end of a case piece is fitted with a bank of drawers made very accessible by their unusual placement (fig. 5). Tables or counters with overhanging tops will often contain a single underhung drawer (fig. 6). Asymmetry was so well developed in numerous Shaker forms that it has come to be identified with Shaker design.
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| 183. Sewing Desks Benjamin Smith (1829-1899) 1861 |
Fig 7. An example of hierarchy: Cupboard and case of drawers, Mount Lebanon, New York, c 1820 |
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The arrangement of parts and their importance in terms of function, shape, or size relative to the overall placement defines the hierarchy of a piece. In most Shaker storage units consisting of cupboard over drawers (fig. 7), greater importance is given to the single door by centering it at eye level above a bank of drawers. Considerable prominence is given to the top of the case by means of the wide stiles on either side of the much narrower cupboard. Although the stiles command primary visual importance because of their mass (thereby balancing the stack of drawers below), they are somewhat dysfunctional, as they make the space behind them partially inaccessible. This arrangement, however, is probably the norm within Shaker furniture design. In the Grove Wright counter ( fig. 4), more visual prominence is given to the single door than the wider drawers, thus achieving an overall balanced effect. The same is true of the facade of the early Canterbury counter pl. 177, where the smaller cupboard door is more important than the adjacent bank of drawers.
Copyright
1993 by Timothy D. Rieman and Jean M. Burks
For more information on The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture click on the book cover.
