BOSTON, MASS.- The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has reached a historic agreement with the known descendants of David Drake (also known as Dave the Potter) regarding two monumental stoneware vessels in the MFA’s collection that were made by the enslaved potter and poet. The Museum has restored ownership of both works, returning one to Drake’s family and purchasing the other back.

The MFA’s decision is consistent with other resolutions it has reached for works of art that changed hands without the consent of their owners, for example during the Holocaust. In achieving this resolution, the MFA recognizes that Drake was deprived of his creations involuntarily and without compensation. This marks the first time that the Museum has resolved an ownership claim for works of art that were wrongfully taken under the conditions of slavery in the 19th-century U.S.

Drake (about 1801–1870s) was enslaved in Old Edgefield, a rural area on the western edge of South Carolina rich in natural clays. Drake made thousands of ceramic vessels, which were used for food preparation and storage and sold to nearby plantations. Beginning in the 1830s, he signed, dated, and inscribed many of his works with poems or short verses—which is especially significant because literacy among enslaved people was criminalized at the time. Drake continued to write for more than three decades, all the while honing his craft and producing increasingly large pots.

The MFA acquired the two jars by Drake—the “Poem Jar” and the “Signed Jar”—in 1997 and 2011, bringing these objects into the collection to build knowledge about his life and work. In 2023, the Museum co-organized the critically acclaimed exhibition Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina to share new research and celebrate Drake’s remarkable artistic achievements. The MFA first engaged the artist’s descendants during the development of the exhibition, which prompted discussions around the rightful ownership of his works.

Both jars were made in 1857 at the Stony Bluff Manufactory in Edgefield and would have been sold to benefit Drake’s enslaver, Lewis J. Miles. Drake was not permitted to possess the jars and did not receive remuneration for them or exercise any control over their fate. He signed both vessels and dated the “Poem Jar” August 22, 1857 and the “Signed Jar” September 22, 1857. Drake inscribed the “Poem Jar” with a rhymed couplet: “I made this Jar = for cash/Though its called Lucre trash.” With these lines, he announced his role as maker and challenged those that undervalued his labor. The poem is almost certainly ironic, pointing to the enslaver’s gain at Drake’s expense, as “lucre” refers to money or profit, often gained through sordid or dishonorable means.

The MFA has reacquired the “Poem Jar,” first restoring ownership to Drake’s family and then purchasing it back from them. The work will continue to be prominently displayed in the MFA’s Art of the Americas Wing. The descendants now own the “Signed Jar” and have decided to have it stay at the Museum on long-term loan.

“We are pleased to reach this landmark resolution with the family of David Drake,” said Pierre Terjanian, Ann and Graham Gund Director. “His works tell important stories. We acquired two jars by him to share his accomplishments as a talented artist, and to also call attention to the conditions of slavery under which he lived and worked. We are honored to be able to continue to share Drake’s creativity and story with our visitors and to preserve his legacy for future generations with support from his family.”

The artist’s descendants formed the Dave the Potter Legacy Trust, LLC to represent their interests in reclaiming Drake’s artistic, cultural, and historic legacy, and ensuring that his dignity and memory are honored through restitution. The Trust will also represent the interests of any other, unnamed descendants who may come forward, identify themselves, and make claims in the future.