African American Ceramics of the 1800s and African Ceramics of a Contemporary Style

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One of the more famous African American potters during the Civil War times in the United States was David Drake (Burrison, 2012). Until he became emancipated he was known simply as Dave or Dave the Slave (Burrison, 2012). In 1801, Dave was born in the United States under his first owner Harvey Drake (Burrison, 2012). Harvey Drake is the most probable person to have taught young Dave how to read and write because of his belief that God gave him the responsibility to help his servants, or slaves how to read the word of God (Burrison, 2012). Many of his pieces are signed and dated, some have short facts about the piece, and others have short poems (Burrison, 2012). The words written on the pottery seems to have been inscribed while it was barely damp greenware (Burrison, 2012). Harvey Drake died in 1832 and in 1834, the South Carolina General Assembly passed a regulation that made it illegal for slaves to be taught how to read and write (Burrison, 2012). In 1840, after passing from one master to another Dave was finally given to Lewis Miles (Burrison, 2012). Dave was one of the few enslaved potters to be allowed to sign the ceramic pieces he produced during his enslavement under Lewis Miles (Burrison, 2012). On one piece Dave inscribed the words "LM says handle will crack" (Chaney). These words mean much more than what is written. It shows that Dave knew what he was doing and possibly even knew more than his master LM, Lewis Miles (Chaney). It seemed that Dave who was an enslaved man was the master, and his master was the fool because the handle, to date, has never cracked (Burrison, 2012). Dave Drake continued to sign his name and sometimes writing poetry on his pottery even though the law had been passed that made it illegal (Burri...

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...with a function in mind or even a purpose. Odundo's ceramic pieces are more of a contemporary conceptual idea of the human body transcribed to clay and made into a vessel.

Works Cited

British Museum. (2000). Magdalene odundo, ceramic vessel. Retrieved from http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/m/magdalene_od undo,_ceramic_vess.aspx

Burrison, J. A. (2012). South carolina’s edgefield district: an early international crossroads of clay. Retrieved from http://www.asjournal.org/archive/56/213.html

Chaney, M. A. (n.d.). The concatenate poetics of slavery and thearticulate material of dave the potter . Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1904635/The_Concatenate_ Poetics_of_Slavery_and_the_Articulate_Material_of_Dave_the_Potter

Slayter-Ralph, A. (n.d.). Magdalene odundo. Retrieved from http://magdaleneodundo.com/
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