Storage Jar
1859
Artist, American, c. 1801 - 1870s
This graceful jar is simple in design, beautiful in execution, and prominently signed Dave by its creator. Such a bold claim to authorship might not seem unusual to us today. After all, the object shows incredible skill, and the potter should be justly proud. We should note, however, that this storage vessel was made by an enslaved Black man at a ceramics manufactory in South Carolina in 1859. It was crafted during a time when it was unlawful to teach enslaved workers to read and write. Dave took risks to announce his identity as he practiced his art.
West Building Main Floor, Gallery 65
Artwork overview
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Medium
alkaline-glazed stoneware
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall (height by widest diameter): 55 × 49 cm (21 5/8 × 19 5/16 in.)
diameter (mouth): 36 cm (14 3/16 in.)
diameter (foot): 31 cm (12 3/16 in.) -
Accession
2023.2.1
More About this Artwork
Interactive Article: Art up Close: Starting from Clay, David Drake’s Storage Jar
A close look at the unseen labor that went in to David Drake’s stoneware pottery and inscribed poetry.
Article: David Drake’s Poetic Pottery Was Resistance
We know so much more about Dave than we otherwise would because he signed his vessels, and also inscribed them with poems, during a period of harsh anti-literacy laws.
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Mrs. Little Berry Stovall (born Mary Lou Harwell) (1871-1963), Apalachee, GA, and Madison, GA; [1] probably by descent to her son Hampton Harwell Stovall (1903-1981), Moore County, NC; by descent to his son Hampton Harwell Stovall, Jr., Southern Pines, NC; by gift to the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, Madison, GA, in 1992; purchased 2023 by NGA.
[1] Provenance based on letter dated November 11, 1991, from Mrs. H. Harwell (Wilda Ortkiese) Stovall, Jr., to the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, copy in NGA curatorial file.
Associated Names
Bibliography
2023
Luchs, Alison. "Gifts and Acquisitions." _Art for the Nation_no. 67 (Fall 2023): 33, repor.
Inscriptions
Inscribed on exterior: I made this out of number, & cross [two short vertical strokes] / if you do not lisen at the bible you’ll be lost--
Inscribed on exterior, opposite shoulder: L.m. march 25th 1859 / Dave / [inscribed more lightly below full date] 1859