The Faces Behind the Shaker Craftsmanship

The stunning new exhibit, The Shakers: From Mount Lebanon to the World, opened earlier this month at the Farnsworth Museum of Art in Rockland, ME. In preparation for the opening, Museum Textile Services Director and Chief Conservator Camille Myers Breeze spent three days on site conserving and mounting clothing and textiles. 

Preparator Leith Mac Donald helping to dress Elder Otis's manikin.

Many of us are familiar with Shaker craftsmanship and the many contributions to design and architecture, including the clothes pin, the flat broom, and the circular saw. This same attention to detail is reflected in Shaker textiles and clothing.

The first thing I worked on upon arriving at the Farnsworth is the only remaining Shaker bretheren's meeting uniform, worn and made by Elder Otis Sawyer (1815-1884.) It is in the collection of the United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake, in New Gloucester, Maine. 
According to the exhibit catalog, ensembles such as this were "designed to make the Shakers worshiping at public meetings look in union with each other and in harmony with the interior of the meeting house."

This historic outfit consists of leather and wool boots, glazed cotton trousers, a long white cotton shirt (this one belonged to Elder Otis's contemporary, Brother Ransom Gillman,) a wool vest with glazed linen and cotton lining, and a wool coat with cotton and silk lining, and cotton velveteen on the cuffs. 

Elder Otis's coat required the most stabilization. The sleeves are lined with a tan cotton that is deteriorating under the arm and has torn in several places. Patches of new cotton were inserted behind losses and hand stitching was used to hold the fragile areas together. Panels of nylon net were used throughout the interior to protect the torn cotton and silk linings.

Torn lining in the sleeve is about to be hand stitched to a new patch of cotton fabric and then covered with protective nylon net.

Elder Otis Sawyer c 1880. He was a "well-respected, trusted Ministry leader, scribe, and historian" at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village.

A complete Sister's uniform worn by Eldress Catherine Allen is also in the exhibit. The dress and tailored yoke, or "bertha," are made of mozambique (a wool and cotton blend) with cotton bobbinet lace details. This is an example of the modern dress style introduced by Mount Lebanon, ME, Shakers at the end of the 19th century. A starched cotton collar is worn at the neck beneath the dress. Shaker women always wore a "lace cap," made of starched plain weave cotton, as a symbol of their purity and commitment to the church.

The Sister's uniform, of Eldress Catherine Allen (1851-1922.)

Lace at the neck of Eldress Catherine's bertha required stabilization.

The lovely purple color of the mozambique cloth resolves upon closer inspection into red and blue threads, one running in the warp direction and the other in the weft direction.  Sister Catherine's dress is in perfect condition with the exception of the bobbinet lace, which is deteriorated at the back of the next. I stitched a simple overlay of black nylon net to the weak areas, which holds the original fragments in places and provides some color compensation.

Sister Iona Sedgley (1886-1947) was a Church Family Deaconess at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village.

On exhibit is a pink and green cloak worn by Sister Iona Sedgley (left). It is similar to the famous red "Dorothy" cloaks but made of lighter-weigh, fancy silks. Although Shaker sericulture is well documented in Ohio and elsewhere, fabric for Shaker garments was also donated or purchased.

Cloak belonging to Sister Iona Sedgley along side a c 1935 uniform of Sister Elsie McCool (1900-1993) awaiting steaming.

Sister Iona's cloak needs as much conservation as Elder Otis's uniform. The lighter pink lining fabric is deteriorated and shattering, notably underneath the hood and along the neck line. I netted these vulnerable areas for now, but they need to be addressed again after the exhibit. After stitched repairs were complete, the cloak was lightly steamed to release wrinkles in the ribbons and outer silk fabric.

The label inside the cloak reads, "Shaker Cloak, LM Noyes, Agent. Sabbathday Lake, ME."

On display with Sister Iona's cloak is a dress worn by Sister Elsie McCool around 1935. It is immediately distinguishable from the other garments because it is made of a synthetic charmeuse. Most likely viscose rayon, the dress has a vivid aqua color, silky feel, and heavy drape. It shows no signs of damage except for some opened seams and discoloration under the arms. A photo of Sister Elsie McCool in 1934 shows her at Sabbathday Lake wearing a similar dress. Next to her is Sister Della Haskell (1899-1969.)

Sister Elsie lived at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village until her death in 1993. In this later photo, she is seen at the top right with fellow sisters and a brother in the Shaker library, housed in room 12 of the dwelling house.

This plush rug from the museum at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village needed a Velcro hanging system as well as a full lining on the reverse to provide support and protection during display. The uniforms of Elder Otis's and Eldress Catherine Allen are awaiting placement in the galleries.

I conserved not only costumes but also two Shaker rugs while at the Farnsworth. The exquisite
c1890 wool plush rug seen above is well represented in literature about Shaker textiles. It was made by Sister Ada S. Cummings (1862-1926) who served as caretaker of the girls at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. She and the girls created the fancy peacock fringe seen above to go around their plush carpets. Materials for the rugs was donated by the Goodall Plush Factory in Sanford, ME. The factory's owners were friendly with the Shaker community in Alfred, ME, and Sister Ada obtained her materials through this connection.

Group of Sabbathday Lake sisters, including Sister Ada S. Cummings, seated at the lower right, who made the plush carpet above.

What made this project so rewarding are the friendly colleagues at the Farnsworth art Museum, including Chief Curator Michael Komanecky, Preparator Leith Mac Donald, and Registrar Angela Waldron. Curator Michael Graham of the Sabbathday lake Shaker Village Library and Museum was also extremely generous in letting me make all of the decisions I thought were best for his collection. The historical information in this blog, as well as the period photographs, are taken from the extraordinary 272 full-color exhibit catalog, The Shakers: From Mount Lebanon to the World, published by Rizzoli. 

The Shakers: From Mount Lebanon to the World is open at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME, through January 4, 2015. It contains hundreds of Shaker items drawn from the extensive collections of the Shaker Museum at Mount Lebanon, NY, and the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. 

Bonnets from Mount Lebanon Shaker Village awaiting display.

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Camille Myers Breeze founded Museum Textile services in 1999. She is a prolific author, and educator of museum personnel and emerging conservation professionals in the US and abroad