David "Dave the Potter" Drake (ca 1800-ca 1870s). Stoneware jar. Edgefield District, South Carolina, August 12th, 1851. Inscribed by Dave to upper shoulder.

RARE JAR MADE AND SIGNED BY THE ENSLAVED CRAFTSMAN, DAVID DRAKE, BEST KNOWN AS "DAVE THE POTTER" 

A monumental alkaline-glazed stoneware storage jar by the now celebrated African-American potter, Dave, produced at the Stony Bluff manufactory of Dave’s enslaver, Lewis Miles, in Edgefield District, South Carolina. The jar is incised with the dated inscription: “August 12. 1851 / Dave” across the shoulder, with the initials “Lm” (Lewis Miles) appearing on the reverse. Of impressive rotund form with a broad swelling body, pronounced shoulder, and flared rim, the jar is fitted with two robust applied lug handles and covered overall in a lustrous olive-green alkaline glaze typical of the Edgefield tradition. Measuring approximately eight gallons in capacity and standing an imposing 17 1/2 inches in height, the vessel represents a notably large example within Dave’s oeuvre, embodying the substantial storage forms produced at the Edgefield potteries during the mid-nineteenth century.

The jar’s bold scale and commanding proportions attest to the technical mastery required to produce such a large stoneware vessel on the wheel. Its expansive shoulder provides the surface for Dave’s finely incised inscription, executed in a carefully controlled hand that retains a clarity and elegance characteristic of the earlier phase of his signed production. The date,“August 12. 1851 / Dave,” is especially noteworthy for its deliberate execution. Scholars have observed that the potter’s signatures often become more hurried in later years, making the refined calligraphic quality of this example particularly appealing. The reverse bears the initials “Lm,” almost certainly referring to Lewis Miles, proprietor of the Stony Bluff manufactory.
The vessel’s generous capacity and imposing scale place it firmly among the larger storage jars known to have been crafted by Dave. Such jars were intended for the storage and preservation of foodstuffs such as salted meats, pickled vegetables, and other provisions essential to plantation life. Creating a jar of this magnitude required both technical control and careful kiln management, the successful firing of a vessel approaching eight gallons in capacity testifies to the extraordinary skill possessed by Dave, who today stands as one of the most important named artisans working in nineteenth-century American ceramics.

Subtle evidence of the potter’s hand remains visible in the surface itself. Near the base, faint impressions left during the glazing process appear to preserve the potter’s fingerprints, an intimate and powerful physical trace of Dave’s presence at the wheel more than a century and a half ago.

[African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation] [Stoneware, Decorative Arts, Crocks, Ceramics]