In May, Theaster Gates set a precedent for restitution by transferring ownership of a stoneware vessel by David Drake, an enslaved ceramist widely known as “Dave the Potter,” to his descendants. The family estimates that some 200 of Drake’s surviving works remain in the possession of museums and collectors, though a growing number of institutions are agreeing to its request: return Drake’s work to his family, and we’ll keep it on view and accessible to the public.
The Hampton University Museum, in Virginia, offers a model of how such a deal works. The institution announced Tuesday that it will accept a loan of the vessel returned by Gates. Beginning Wednesday October 21, the work will go on view through May 2027. Drake’s piece will be in good company: the Hampton University Museum’s collection includes works by Henry O. Tanner, one of the first African American painters to earn international renown, known for his dignified depictions of Black subjects and biblical scenes; and Thomas Day, a master cabinetmaker and free man of color from North Carolina.
“It is indeed an honor to showcase this historic pottery,” Hampton University museum director Dr. Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, said in a statement, expressing “great thanks to the Drake family descendants.”
David Drake’s profile has risen dramatically within the mainstream art world over the past decade, buoyed by his biography and skill. He was born into enslavement in Edgefield District, South Carolina, bound by laws that forbade Black literacy. Defiantly, he made some 40,000 jars in bondage, inscribing many with his name and even with poems of his own devising. ARTnews named Drake’s Storage Jar, from 1857, the greatest artwork about the United States of America. (One side of the pot reads: “When you fill this Jar with pork or beef / Scot will be there; to get a peace, — / Dave.”)
In 2021, Drake set the world auction record for American pottery when his 25-gallon stoneware jar sold for $1.56 million at Crocker Farm. The following year, his art drew institutional attention with “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina,” which debuted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before traveling to Boston, Atlanta, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. After this show, Drake’s descendants began in earnest their mission to reclaim ownership of the art.
Since 2025, the family has reportedly reached agreements of what it describes as “ethical restitution” with five museums and two collectors, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Georgia Museum of Art, in Athens; the Telfair Museums, in Savannah, Georgia; and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Each institution contacted is offered the choice to repurchase or deaccession its jar.
“When I look at Dave’s pottery, I think about the conditions he was living in and the courage it took for him to write his name and poetry into the clay. Our ancestor left something for his family to find—a voice, a connection, a way to know him,” said Yaba Baker, David Drake’s fourth-great-grandson, in a statement, thanking Theaster Gates for his part.
Baker added, “Loaning this jar to Hampton University Museum is a full-circle moment for me. I attended Hampton, and it literally changed my life! Playing a role in my alma mater being the first HBCU to show a Drake jar fills me with joy and pride.”