An enslaved potter left messages for the future, inscribed in clay
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Ken Makin Cultural commentator
| Edgefield County, South Carolina
It is not unusual to find broken pieces of pottery in areas throughout the hometown of enslaved 19th-century potter and poet David Drake, affectionately known as Dave the Potter. Such pieces have been found on old plantations and near former kilns, and the glaze of those distinctive sherds 鈥� not shards 鈥� are reflective of unique craftsmanship. They also leave a trail for Drake鈥檚 descendants to learn about their 19th-century ancestor鈥檚 roots.
The broken pieces might also represent a fractured lineage 鈥� the near impossibility of determining ancestry because of the horrors of chattel slavery and an uncivil war that would devastate the South and its recordkeeping. Putting the pieces back together through genealogy and, at times, mythology, is not just Drake鈥檚 story, but a tale reflective of American history.
Last October, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston did something unprecedented. It restored ownership of two of Drake鈥檚 pots to his descendants, marking the first time that such a claim had been resolved for a work of art crafted through the forced labor of Africans in America. Other museums and collectors own the pots, which today sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 聽
Why We Wrote This
American history is full of overlooked stories, like that of David Drake, an enslaved potter in the 18th century, whose beautiful wares fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars today. Why the intense interest? In a time when literacy for Africans was illegal, Drake inscribed verses on the pots themselves. His phrases show a longing for family, and also a sense of humor.
Victoria Reed, the MFA鈥檚 chair of provenance, says in an interview that the museum鈥檚 relationship with Drake鈥檚 descendants dated back to 2022, when an exhibition featuring his pots, 鈥淗ear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina,鈥� was being planned.聽
鈥淔rom my perspective, the most important thing was that we as an institution were upholding the criteria for restitution in a consistent way across departments,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have dealt with claims for forcibly traded and coercively transferred property during the Holocaust. ... I think we also have to ask these questions about forcible transfers in other [museum] departments as well. I would say it鈥檚 both unprecedented and we had something of a road map for it.鈥�
Making pots as an 鈥渁ct of resistance鈥�
Yaba Baker is a fifth-generation descendant of Drake and spokesman for the Dave the Potter Legacy Trust, the entity set up to honor him. 鈥淢y uncle [John Williams] said you hear about [slavery], but once you have a direct connection to it, it feels different,鈥� Mr. Baker says. 鈥淲e understood the conditions [Dave] was working under, the heat and the toll, and how his family was sold from under him, which is why he wrote [the poem] about 鈥榓ll my relation.鈥欌��
鈥淚 wonder where is all my relation, friendship to all 鈥� and, every nation,鈥� Drake wrote and molded into a pot dated Aug. 16, 1857. While his exact birth date isn鈥檛 known, it is believed that he was born in 1801 on a plantation in North Carolina owned by Harvey Drake, and was later transported to Edgefield to work for Drake鈥檚 business partner, Abner Landrum. It鈥檚 unclear how Drake learned to read and write, but South Carolina鈥檚 Negro Act of 1740 made literacy for enslaved Africans illegal.聽
In spite of those harsh realities, Drake made thousands of pots, which endeared him to the people of Edgefield and cemented his reputation. Mr. Baker calls Drake鈥檚 life and work an 鈥渁ct of resistance.鈥�
鈥淔or us, he鈥檚 inspirational as a human. And then the work he did and the quality. Anything that lasts over the last 175 years is impressive,鈥� Mr. Baker says. 鈥淲e now have in our lineage someone who鈥檚 done something that changed the world.鈥�
Celebrating 鈥淒ave Day鈥�
The story of how Drake鈥檚 descendants learned about their ancestor can鈥檛 be told without the late April Hynes, a genealogist who was inspired by an artistic discovery made in her own family.
鈥淎pril鈥檚 granddad was on this crew that was building a new school,鈥� explains Wayne O鈥橞ryant, a South Carolina-based historian. 鈥淭hey were digging a trench, and the shovel hit something hard. And so he dug around and pulled up this face jug.鈥�
As it turned out, the jug was made in Edgefield County, and Ms. Hynes set out to learn more about the alkaline-glazed pottery method. What she found was the story of Dave the Potter, and then a question followed: Where are his descendants?
鈥淚t is important to note that prior to the 1870 census, slave ancestors had little records. If one was fortunate to have been listed in plantation records, or probate papers it was only by first name,鈥� Ms. Hynes wrote on her blog, The Wanderer Project. 鈥淓nslaved families were rarely recorded by birth, death or marriage and African-Americans researching their slavery roots only have a few clues in which to reconnect their family history. To expect them to hold to the same standard of proof with other ethnic groups that held direct evidence and whose immigration was voluntary, tend to take this for granted.鈥�
Ms. Hynes eventually made contact with Daisy Whitner, a fourth-generation descendant of Drake, and the aunt of Mr. Baker. Nearly 30 of Drake鈥檚 descendants made the trip from Maryland to Edgefield to celebrate the inaugural Dave Day celebration in 2016.
Almost a decade later, the revelation that landed in the family鈥檚 lap has manifested in an effort to tell Drake鈥檚 story and reclaim his glory.聽
鈥淚t was exhilarating to me, that in this environment that we live in today, that [the Museum of Fine Arts] would honor their promise of restitution,鈥� Ms. Whitner says.聽
鈥淭he legacy that he left behind, I鈥檓 so inspired to encourage the family to do better,鈥� adds Pauline Baker, Ms. Whitner鈥檚 sister and another fourth-generation descendant. 鈥淲e have no excuse in this world because of [his] legacy. I am totally inspired by him.鈥澛�
鈥淗e broke all the molds鈥�
The landmark restitution between the MFA and Dave the Potter Legacy Trust centers around two of Drake鈥檚 pots. There鈥檚 also a pair of his pots on display almost 1,000 miles away at the Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society, which is also the current home of select wares from Old Edgefield Pottery.
While Drake鈥檚 legacy lives on in his descendants, there are other perspectives on his life and work. A likeness of his signed name is engraved on a unique edition of the book 鈥淐arolina Clay,鈥� by Leonard Todd, one of the descendants of pottery businessman Lewis Miles, who enslaved Drake. It鈥檚 a deeply researched account that invariably becomes a topic of conversation whenever Drake鈥檚 name is mentioned. Justin and Tonya Guy, the current owners of Old Edgefield Pottery, light up when folks ask about the vessels, which they affectionately call 鈥淒ave鈥� or 鈥淒aves鈥� when talking about both pots.
Mrs. Guy spoke about Drake as being a figure who 鈥渟tands out in not only Edgefield County history, but history in general.鈥�
鈥淒ave would鈥檝e been right at the very beginnings of Edgefield pottery 鈥� the whole tradition. He would have been right there with Dr. Landrum and his brothers, who were the ones who kind of came up with the concept of visual pottery,鈥� or showpieces that went beyond just utilitarian vessels, she says. 鈥淲e believe it was Dr. Landrum who also employed Dave to work with him in the print shop, so he could learn to read and write.鈥�
For Mr. Guy, a potter himself, there鈥檚 reverence and appreciation. 鈥淗e was a true inspiration,鈥� Mr. Guy says. 鈥淗e did something truly amazing, and the character study of Dave himself will never get old. He broke all the molds.鈥�
When asked about the partnership between the MFA and Drake鈥檚 descendants, however, the Guys expressed concerns about broken lineage and Ms. Hynes鈥� research.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e doing [the descendants] a disservice by not doing your job as a genealogist and pinning their hopes on something that is not certainly true,鈥� Mr. Guy says.聽
It is as uncertain a science as describing the dynamic between the enslaved and his enslaver, though Mrs. Guy has a compelling story about Drake and Lewis Miles: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a pot with a handle on it which [reads]: 鈥楲M says this handle will [crack],鈥� which Dave inscribes. It didn鈥檛 break, which means Dave was right,鈥� Mrs. Guy says. 鈥淏ut that tells you something about their relationship. Dave wasn鈥檛 just a slave. They had a more familial relationship for Dave to have such a voice.鈥�
A legacy inscribed in clay
From Mr. Baker鈥檚 and the family鈥檚 viewpoint, there鈥檚 nothing else to prove about their lineage. 鈥淲e went through a whole process,鈥� Mr. Baker says. 鈥淢FA Boston ... hired their own genealogist to confirm [the findings]. There wasn鈥檛 just one genealogist; there were several. To still ask the question of 鈥楬ow do we know?鈥� is insulting, in my opinion.鈥�
It might be a fitting end 鈥� or beginning 鈥� to learning more about Dave the Potter, whose birth and death dates aren鈥檛 even known for certain. One thing that鈥檚 clear is that he was a deeply spiritual man whose works are still speaking for him decades later.
