Storage Jar
Dateca. 1821
Maker
David Drake
ca. 1801 - ca. 1875
MediumAlkaline-glazed stoneware
DimensionsOH: 6 1/2"; OD: 9 3/16"; Diameter at foot: 6"; Diameter at mouth: 5 1/4"
Credit LineC. Thomas Hamlin III Fund and Museum Purchase
Object number2019-73
DescriptionOvoid storage jar with pronounced everted flared rim marked with a U near the base of the jar using what appears to be printer's type.Label TextDavid Drake is one of the only enslaved potters working in America whose work can be specifically attributed to him. This storage jar and 2019-74 represent the very early years of his working career and are handsome examples of the wares made in the earlier period in Edgefield pottery.David Drake was owned by several men during his life. One of these, Abner Landrum, edited a local newspaper; the "Edgefield Hive" and David Drake may have worked as a typesetter there. This jar and 2019-74 were stamped with printer's type letters, like those used by newspapers, near the base; Landrum’s newspaper may have been the source of the type that was likely used.Inscription(s)NoneMark(s)An impressed U near the base of the jar made using what appears to be printer's type.Provenance[Robert Hunter Antiques, Yorktown, VA]; 2019, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
1884 (dated)
