Lm April 7, 1859 / Dave: A Rare David Drake Crock
An important figure in recent American ceramics scholarship is the prolific, enslaved potter, David Drake (about 1800-1870) of South Carolina. Rare among enslaved people, Drake was literate and inscribed his utilitarian alkaline-glazed vessels with dates, commentary on daily life, religion, poetry, and most importantly, his name. Examples of Drake’s work were given context and featured in the landmark 2022 exhibition, Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina, which opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the High Museum of Art; and the University of Michigan, Museum of Fine Arts. His work is actively sought by collectors and institutions.
Freeman’s | Hindman is honored to offer a large two-handled, incised crock by David Drake in our April 29th American Furniture, Folk and Decorative Arts auction. The inscription along the vessel’s shoulder reads, Lm April 7, 1859 / Dave. The reverse of the vessel bears three incised hashmarks, indicating the large storage capabilities of the crock. While the three marks suggest that the crock could store 30-gallons, further rudimentary testing suggests that the maximum storage capacity is closer to 22-gallons.
The crock descended in the family of farmer Ralph Jones (1821-1890) and his wife, Susan Elizabeth Morton Jones (1847-1939), Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia to the present owners.
Lot 191 | A Rare and Large Dave Drake Alkaline Glazed Two-Handled Stoneware Crock
David Drake (c. 1800-c.1870), Edgefield, South Carolina, 1859 $150,000 - 250,000
Provenance: Ralph Jones (1821-1890) and Susan Elizabeth Morton Jones (1847-1939), of Eatonton, Georgia; to their daughter, Elizabeth Jones Gooch (1875-1969), and her husband Benjamin Erasmus Gooch (1869-1944); to their daughter, Susan Gooch Cone (1903-1950), and her husband Aaron Asberry Cone (1899-1967); thence my descent to the present owner, Eatonton, Georgia.
Viewing: April 23–28
2400 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA