"foggytown" wrote in message
oups.com...

Leon wrote:
"Mark Wells" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have heard that Shakers deliberately (?) included imperfections in
their work so that it was clear that it was not made by a human, not
God.

Mark


Come again?

I don't know about Shakers but that concept is certainly true about
Muslims. The prayer mats they weave always have an intentional mistake
in the weave because nothing on earth should be perfect but God.

A careful examination of Shaker furniture will not show too many pieces that
are "perfect." They were trying to make a living and as efficiently as
possible. The degree of skill likely varied as much within the Shaker
community as it did elsewhere. Over-cut pins on blind dovetails, dovetail
pins on compound angles cut perpendicular to the angle rather than in line
with the grain, dovetails that end on half tails instead of half pins,
"designs" that almost defy logic... all can be found. I've got photos of
some of these things and books like John Kassay's "The Book of Shaker
Furniture" have photos and measured drawings showing other of the defects in
workmanship.

It is not my intent to "slam" the Shakers by any means. I'm actually a huge
fan of their work and admire them for the dedication to their faith. I also
let my mind wander while walking around places like Hancock Shaker Village
and the Shaker Museum and Library and can almost hear them at work....

As one of the guys said during the handcut dovetail class I taught last
weekend "Who has to deliberately make mistakes in their work?"

John