David Drake's descendants.Photo: MFA
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — For the first time ever, the Museum of Fine Arts has returned two pieces of art to the descendants of the enslaved artist who created them.
The two stoneware jars titled the “Poem Jar” and the “Signed Jar” were created by David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter.
Drake was enslaved in South Carolina during the 1800s, and made thousands of ceramic vessels, according to the MFA. He eventually started inscribing his works with poems or short verses.
Victoria Reed, the chair for provenance at the MFA, said it’s usually hard to identify the artist behind enslaved artwork, but these artworks are different.
“These are, in that way, unique. They’re signed, we know who made them”
The MFA acquired the pieces in 2011, but it wasn’t until 2023 that museum workers connected with Drake’s descendants through the exhibit “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina.”
“We often think about the loss of cultural property as being something that happened far away in Africa, in Asia, in Europe during World War II, but in fact, there are cultural property losses here in the United States, on our own soil, and not that long ago,” Reed said.
The Signed Jar, left, the Poem Jar, right.Photo: MFA
The two works are now owned by Drake’s descendants. They’re still on display at the MFA, since the museum bought one of the jars back and another is on long-term loan.
Because Drake was enslaved, he didn’t receive ownership or make any money for the works, even though he clearly wanted to.
The Poem Jar is inscribed with the couplet “I made this Jar = for cash/Though its called Lucre trash,” according to the MFA.
This restoration of ownership is a first for the MFA, but it’s unlikely that the museum will able to do it again.
“There are other objects in the collection that we believe to have been made by enslaved artists,” Reed said. “We don’t know who they are anymore.”
WBZ’s Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.