Fine Four-Gallon Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Jar, Inscribed "Dave / Lm / Aug 5. 1854," David Drake at Lewis Miles's Stony Bluff Manufactory, Horse Creek Valley, Edgefield District, SC, 1854, squat-shaped, rotund jar with flared rim, deeply-tooled shoulder, and raised lug handles, featuring the incised inscription, "Lm," for Drake's enslaver, Lewis Miles, followed by the date, "Aug 5. 1854." Diagonally-incised below with the signature, "Dave." Reverse incised at the shoulder with four punctates, denoting four gallons, beside two incised slash marks, a hallmark used by Drake. Surface covered in a high-gloss, olive-colored alkaline glaze. Fingerprints, possibly those of Drake, are visible at the base, created when the jar was dipped in its glaze. This recently-surfaced work is not listed in Goldberg and Witkowski's groundbreaking Ceramics in America 2006 article, "Beneath His Magic Touch: The Dated Vessels of the African-American Slave Potter Dave," which compiled a chronology of all known dated vessels by Drake. It is noteworthy for its expressive form highlighting Drake's distinctive potting style, its lustrous glaze, and deeply-incised inscriptions. Loss to roughly 60% of rim. Two shallow rim chips. Two shallow chips to reverse of proper right handle. A 1 3/8" glazed-over base chip. H 13 3/8".
