Glove form
(late 19th century)
Medium
wood
Measurements
5.6 × 9.9 × 30.9 cm (partially open)
Credit Line
Marjorie Josephs-Wilks Bequest, 2025
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, was an American Protestant sect with over six thousand members at the peak of its popularity during the mid-nineteenth century. The eighteen communities were spread across the United States from Maine to Kentucky, with the largest and most influential community established in 1787 at New Lebanon, New York. The guiding Shaker principles of honesty, utility and simplicity found expression in the manufacture of their home furnishings, including furniture, textiles and objects, which are recognised for their high quality and minimalist design.
These glove forms aided the production of fitted gloves by the Shaker sisters. Knitted woollen gloves were either stretched on these forms to make them larger or were made smaller by blocking the wool. Blocking woollen gloves entailed stretching the glove over this form and then wetting, often boiling, the whole form to shrink the woollen glove to the size of the form. In making the knit of the wool tighter, this also made the gloves more weather durable. The thumb on this form can be swivelled to
aid storage.