About this artwork
This boldly inscribed storage jar was made by David Drake, who was born enslaved around 1800and learned the art of hand-coiling, throwing, and glazing pottery in Edgefield, South Carolina. “LM” stands for Lewis Miles, Drake’s enslaver and owner of the Stoney Bluff Manufactory, part of the plantation where the potter labored from around 1849 to the 1860s. Drake was not the only artisan active in Edgefield, and his audacious works represent artistry, skill, and resilience at a time when enslaved people faced criminalization and violence for reading, writing, or even signing one’s name.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 161
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artists
- David Drake , Lewis Miles Stoney Bluff Manufactory [plantation] (Maker)
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Title
- Storage Jar
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Places
- Edgefield (Object made in), United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1857
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Medium
- Stoneware and glaze
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Inscriptions
- Signed and dated, incised between handles on one side: "Lm September 7. 1857 / Dave " [script].
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Dimensions
- 45.7 × 43.2 cm (18 × 17 in.); Diam.: 43.2 cm (17 in.)
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Credit Line
- Through prior bequest of Arthur Rubloff; Wesley M. Dixon Jr. Endowment Fund
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Reference Number
- 2020.58
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/257989/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
