There was once a prolific master potter who turned pots in the Edgefield district of South Carolina. His name was Dave. He was also enslaved. Between 1829 and 1864, Dave produced various pottery forms, some of which were of mammoth scale, holding over twenty gallons. We know all this because he often signed and dated his pots. On numerous occasions, he even scribed original rhyming verses into the surface of clay. The book, The Words and Wares of David Drake: Revisiting “I Made This Jar” and the Legacy of Edgefield Pottery, edited by Jill Beute Koverman and Jane Przybysz, is a collection of essays, all tasked with the same purpose: to illuminate the identity and legacy of David Drake, master potter, poet, and emancipated man.

Through a series of essays, each with its own perspective and theme, the book paints a faceted portrait of Drake. The scant documentation of his existence comes mostly from family estate plans and sales documents, wherein he was listed as property to be sold, traded, and inherited. Additional information about his life comes from direct examination of the wares he produced and the dates, marks, and verses he wrote on the clay. Absent more firsthand documentation, researchers explore the physical condition of the potteries in which he worked and the societal conditions through which he navigated daily life. To this end, each essay tackles a specific element of his identity. The result is a mosaic approach to understanding David Drake, what he accomplished, and what his legacy means to contemporary art and culture.

The book is presented in two parts. The first part of the book is a reprint of the exhibition catalog produced to accompany the exhibition “I Made This Jar: The Life and Works of Enslaved African American Potter, Dave.” Originally published in 1998, the catalog is a collection of well-researched essays that attempt to answer some of the crucial questions about Drake’s life. Questions about his birth and death, the origins of his literacy, and his evolving skill as a master potter are all explored. Occasionally, the essayists shift focus from Drake to the physical and societal environment in which he lived. One such essay takes a historical look at the Edgefield district, noting the commercial and political constraints that prevailed during his lifetime. Another essay reveals archaeological information related to the pottery Page 219 →sites where Drake worked. Still other essays focus on his writing, linking his verse to early African-American poets and placing it in the larger tradition of pottery poetry from elsewhere in the United States and Europe. The final essay in part one returns our focus to Drake and looks directly at the verses he scribed, asserting his familiarity with social satire, the Bible, the larger world, and his place in it.

Compiled some twenty years later, the essays in the second half of the book attempt to pick up where the first publication left off. Although the essays in this portion of the book seem a bit disjointed, they do represent the diverse research that has occurred. As a ceramics educator, I was particularly fascinated by the archaeological evidence regarding the kilns used at several Edgefield potteries where Drake worked. Unlike the kilns commonly found in South Carolina, the Edgefield kilns were up to three times larger, and aspects of their construction resembled kiln designs from Europe and Asia. Additionally, as pottery forms and shards attributed to Drake have been categorized by date, aesthetic attributes, and scribed verse, interesting patterns arise, revealing glimpses into which days of his workweek were most labor intensive and which years his pots went unsigned or undated, his voice inexplicably silenced. Analysis of the wares produced at these potteries provides evidence as to where Drake worked and how his work evolved as he was transferred from one owner to the next. Ongoing research in this area means additional pots continue to be discovered and attributed to Drake, thus broadening his oeuvre and our understanding of it.

Not all the essays in the book, however, focus on artifacts and accounts of the past. Two essays in the second section examine the ways in which Drake’s work has influenced and inspired contemporary Black artists such as Jonathan Green, Carrie Mae Weems, and Theaster Gates. Each of these artists produced artwork inspired by, and reflective of, Drake’s life and experience. Consequently, these artists are presented as cultural historians, promoting global awareness of Drake by illuminating details of his life and planting his legacy firmly within the context of contemporary culture.

These essays are paralleled by the final essay in the book, written by a descendant of one of the families that owned Drake. This essay pulls us back into the past once more and, while providing additional information, it highlights the book’s limitation—that to know more about David Drake, we must rely on adjacent accounts of his life and station—and therein lies the book’s greatest challenge. Absent accounts directly from Drake or his descendants, his identity remains tantalizingly incomplete. More research is needed.

Page 220 →The book concludes with a fascinating series of appendices that stand as the culminating record, to date, of the documented data on Drake’s life and work. An attempt is made to document all the African-American potters and associated laborers working in the Edgefield District during Drake’s lifetime. There is also a chronological listing of all known inscriptions incised by or attributed to David Drake, as well as an inventory of his dated vessels listed chronologically with museum affiliation should one want to see an example of his work in person.

The authors and editors present a fascinating and multifaceted portrait based on what is currently known. However, if the purpose of the book is to reveal his identity, this reader is left craving more. The available research has begun to clarify several specific dates, events, and aspects of his life, but many of the larger questions raised within the book remain unanswered. For example, what was the extent of his liberties, and how did his obvious skill, talent, and education affect his status? In such a punitive environment, it seems radical, this act of rebellion with words, to write on pots and boldly sign his name. One also wonders: Who was the intended audience for his verse? Were his words solely an expression of identity and independence, or were they more of a signal to other enslaved people, or possibly a tool used for the education of others? Much remains to be confirmed about his personal life, his motives, and his tribulations. Perhaps in another twenty years, yet another update to the publication will provide answers to these questions and more. In the meantime, this text is an excellent culmination of existing research and opinions concerning the life and identity of David Drake. As awareness of David Drake grows, the opportunity for new discoveries, connections, and conjecture will surely continue to expand in pace.

Douglas E. Gray, Francis Marion University