BOSTON (AP) — Inside the wide mouth of a stoneware jar, Daisy Whitner’s fingertips found a slight rise in the clay—a mark she hoped was a trace left behind by her ancestor, an enslaved potter who shaped the vessel nearly 175 years ago in South Carolina.
Standing in the gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston last week, Whitner said she felt a quiet connection to her ancestor, David Drake, in that moment.
“I was telling the kids, ’Inside this jar, I’m sure I’m feeling his tears, sweat drops off his face, his arms,’” said 86-year-old Whitner, a Washington, D.C., resident and a retired account manager for The Washington Post.
The jar is one of two returned to Drake’s family as part of a historic agreement this month between Drake’s descendants and the MFA Boston, one of the institutions that holds pieces of his work. The vessels are among hundreds of surviving works by “Dave the Potter,” who labored in the alkaline-glazed stoneware potteries of Edgefield, South Carolina, in the decades before and during the Civil War.
Noted for inscribing his creations with rhyming couplets, Drake's work represents not only artistic talent but also a remarkable assertion of identity during a time when literacy for enslaved people was criminalized. The agreement is considered the first major case of art restitution involving works created by an enslaved person in the U.S.
Children’s book author Yaba Baker, Dave’s great-grandson, expressed that the return is a “spiritual restoration,” allowing the family to reclaim part of their history. “We want people to know that this person, who was told he was nothing but a tool to be used, realized he had humanity,” Baker stated.
The jars’ return has prompted the family to sell one back to the museum, ensuring that Dave’s legacy continues to educate and inspire. The other jar remains on lease to the museum.
In a powerful reflection on his ancestor’s story, Baker pointed out the trajectory of their lineage and the resilience demonstrated through Dave’s artistry. This narrative offers the family a vital connection to their roots—one often obscured for many Black families.
The return of these historical artifacts emphasizes the need for ethical considerations in restitution cases, as Drake’s descendants have been approached by other institutions seeking to engage with his legacy.
As Daisy Whitner noted, touching the jar gave her an intense connection to the struggles and triumphs of her ancestor, underlining the emotional weight of reclaiming one's history.
