Shaker 1797 - 1813

Curator: Before us, we have a metal shaker crafted by Thomas Danforth III between 1797 and 1813, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: It’s unexpectedly imposing for a shaker. The metal finish and its scale create a serious mood, almost like a miniature monument. It's as if something functional has been elevated to the level of art. Curator: Precisely, and the historical context amplifies this. Danforth was working within a society with strict class divisions. Tableware like this becomes symbolic of status. Editor: It's interesting to consider it within a society grappling with new ideas of equality even while adhering to class structures. A handcrafted piece like this certainly carries signifiers of exclusivity, yet within the Shaker community ideals about craft and access may have disrupted old social structures. Curator: Shifting our focus slightly, the use of metal offers us insights. How does this medium interact with the decorative art style so prominent in this piece? Editor: It subverts it, perhaps. We expect fragility from decorative arts, maybe glass or porcelain. The metal gives it a permanence and heft, contrasting with the delicate piercing in the top that facilitates sprinkling the spices. Curator: Thinking more broadly, we might examine how museums frame decorative objects as culturally important artifacts versus simply household goods. What meaning accrues through this shift in setting? Editor: Putting it into a museum, its accessibility expands, but also its meaning changes. It goes from being a simple, domestic item to part of the collective identity of that moment in history. This object suddenly starts to speak for an era and its societal expectations. Curator: Absolutely. Considering this shaker invites questions about our perception of historical value, access to material culture, and the dialogue between artistic intent and cultural reception. Editor: Indeed. The piece reminds me to question easy labels and to look for complex reflections on identity in seemingly ordinary things.