ABSTRACT
Recent preoccupations with the abstractions of Shaker belief, such as the meaning of the songs and poems of the believers, or the significance of the female interpersonal relationships in its community life, have drawn attention away from the artefacts which have so often formed the focus of interest in the past. To an extent they reflect the concerns of the present: through examining these abstract themes we may draw conclusions which have relevance to our times. But they also seek to combat the sterility of dialogue created by the concentration on rocking chairs and hatboxes, withdrawing the Shakers from the art galleries which seem destined to be their final homes, to rehabilitate them at the centre of the discourse on theology and community. Essential though this thrust in Shaker studies is, it would be just as imbalanced if the material culture of the Shakers were neglected in the process, to be regarded as of little importance when compared with the philosophical, social or religious issues. For the physical world of the United Society was a very real one; coping with it, rejoicing in it, designing for it, working and making within it was fundamental to the Shaker way of life and worship.
