Images(4)

Jug

Date1850-1860

Maker David Drake , Potter (ca. 1801 - ca. 1875)

OriginAmerica, South Carolina, Edgefield, Stoney Bluff Plantation

MediumAsh-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOH: 17", Diam. 15"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1939-137

DescriptionFive-gallon, two-handled ash (alkaline)-glazed stoneware syrup jug. Enslaved Black potter, David Drake created alkaline-glazed stoneware vessels distinguished by their massive size and, in some instances, their inscribed verses. Other distinctive features include the deeply corded neck, high arched handles, impressed thumbprint at the base of each handle, and five incised punctates at the neck indicative of its five-gallon capacity. Its alkaline glaze, unique in America to southern potteries, creates a lively pattern of random, foamy drips on the body of the vessel.
Label TextDavid Drake, an enslaved Black potter, worked for various owners in the Edgefield district of South Carolina. He created ash-glazed stoneware vessels distinguished by their massive size and, in some instances, their inscribed verses. This jug is not embellished with poetry, but at almost 17 inches tall and 15 inches in diameter, it has the scale associated with Drake's work. Other distinctive features include the impressed thumbprint at the base of each handle and five incised punctates at the neck to indicate its five-gallon capacity.

Syrup jugs held the fresh molasses that was the principal sweetener in the southerner's diet. Although popular in the South, the form is virtually unknown in other parts of the country.
ProvenanceMrs. J. B. Taliaferro

Exhibition(s)