Very Rare attrib. David Drake, Pottersville, Edgefield District, SC Stoneware Jug: "17th October 1836"
Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection
Lot #: 107
Estimate: $8,000-$12,000.A Note About Estimates
Minimum Bid: $2,000.
Very Rare Three-Gallon Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Jug, Inscribed "17th october 1836," attributed to David Drake at the Pottery of Ramey, Rhodes, and Company, Pottersville, Edgefield District, SC, 1836, rotund jug with distinctive tooled spout, incised across the shoulder with the date, "17th october 1836," preceded by three small slash marks denoting three gallons as well as one larger slash. Surface covered in a gray-green alkaline glaze. The date on this jug indicates it was made while Drake was still active at Pottersville, the site where he likely learned to pot, shortly after a change in ownership of the pottery. Baldwin's Great and Noble Jar notes that the owners of the Pottersville pottery, Reuben Drake, Collin Rhodes, and Nathaniel Ramey, dissolved their partnership in September of 1836, when Reuben Drake sold his interest to Robert Mathis. At this time, the new partnership of Ramey, Rhodes, and Company was formed (Baldwin, p. 36). The jug's October date reveals the vessel was made within a month of this newly-established ownership. Characteristic of Drake's early work, this jug features a lighter color to the glaze and a single slash hallmark that would later evolve into two slashes. As relatively few inscribed examples of David Drake pottery from this period have survived, this jug is regarded as a noteworthy early example within the potter's amazing body of work. Literature: Listed in Goldberg and Witkowski, "Beneath His Magic Touch: The Dated Vessels of the African-American Slave Potter Dave," Ceramics in America 2006, p. 67. Provenance: Although a date of acquisition is unknown to us, Wahler noted in her database that Jill Beute Koverman visited her to document the jug in 1997. Very nice condition with a shallow 1 1/8" base flake, two minor base nicks, a 3/4" flake to underside along edge, and two faint vertical lines at base, measuring 3 1/2" and 3/4". H 14 1/2".
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