A 4-gallon ceramic jar made by a celebrated, highly collected and enslaved artist was returned to the artist’s descendants in a ceremony yesterday at the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens.
David Drake was born into slavery in South Carolina in 1800. Experts think he produced around 170 ceramic jars over his life.
His descendants never profited from the market for his pots.
George Fatheree is a lawyer who facilitated Monday’s transfer from a private collector from Athens.
"The artist never had the right to exercise his own voluntary agency in terms of determining what would happen with that piece," Fatheree says.
Drake inscribed many of his jars with poetry—though it was illegal for enslaved people to read or write.
Drake’s fourth great grandson Yaba Baker says he wants people to see the bravery in that.
“For him to sign his name and write poems on a pot, was literally putting his life at risk. If he could stand up and sign his name and make his voice heard, anybody can, and I want people to come here and be inspired by that,” says Baker.
The piece transferred to Drake’s descendants in Athens will remain in the Georgia Museum of Art for about a year and will go on display in the fall.
