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For nearly 200 years, the voice and legacy of David Drake—an enslaved Black ceramicist in South Carolina known as “Dave the Potter”—have survived in clay, featuring his name, poetry, and quiet defiance. Today, his descendants, alongside attorney George Fatheree, are leading a historic restitution campaign to reclaim his prized jars and ensure public access.
The Bottom Line:
- Unprecedented Restitution: Attorney George Fatheree and the Dave the Potter Legacy Trust have established a new playbook for returning art created by enslaved Americans, as no prior legal path existed.
- Public Access and Ownership: Rather than permanently removing the pieces from public view, the family invites institutions to return the jars and repurchase them, allowing museums to remain legitimate owners while the family shares in the asset’s legacy.
- Institutional Returns: Jars have already been successfully recovered from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Telfair Museums, the Georgia Museum of Art, private collectors, and artist Theaster Gates.
Uncharted Legal Territory in Art Restitution
When Yaba Baker’s family learned they were direct descendants of David Drake, courtesy of a genealogist who contacted an aunt, they confronted a profound historical contradiction. Drake carved his name and poetry into more than 40,000 creations, surviving a system that tried to erase his humanity. Yet, he was never permitted to own the work his hands created.
“When does it end? He was enslaved, and now the pots he created are still, in a sense, enslaved,” Yaba Baker told us in an exclusive interview. “The one thing that we clearly understand is that these are assets that get passed down to people’s families. They’re artwork, but they’re also assets.”
According to reporting from the Washington Post, only 250 of Drake’s works still exist today. Approximately 40 to 60 reside in museums, while the remaining vessels sit within private collections. Navigating the return of these rare pieces required entirely new legal strategies. As attorney George Fatheree emphasized, “This had never been done before. There was no precedent, there was no playbook, so we had to create one.”
Shifting Institutional Dynamics and Public Access
Unlike restitution cases governed by federal or state laws for Nazi-looted art or Indigenous cultural items, the Drake family had to pioneer a cooperative model. Instead of demanding museums simply hand over the works and close their doors, the descendants encourage institutions to return the jars and then purchase them back.
This method allows museums to maintain their status as public stewards while the family becomes a financial and cultural beneficiary of its ancestor’s legacy. “It was very important to the family that Mr. Drake’s artwork remain accessible to the public,” Fatheree explained. “And so the approach that we’ve developed is we are inviting museums to return the artwork to the family.”
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Estimated Surviving Works | Only 250 known creations out of over 40,000 made. |
| Institutional Holdings | 40 to 60 pieces located in museums. |
| Private Holdings | Remaining pieces held by private collectors and individual artists. |
| Confirmed Recoveries | Works recovered from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Telfair Museums, Georgia Museum of Art, private collectors, and Theaster Gates. |
So far, the campaign has successfully recovered seven of Drake’s jars from prominent entities, including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Telfair Museums, the Georgia Museum of Art, private collectors, and artist Theaster Gates. Discussions with other major cultural institutions remain ongoing.
The Broader Cultural and Economic Stakes
While the physical recovery of the jars marks a tangible victory, the campaign represents a much larger reckoning for how American institutions value the foundational labor of enslaved people. Baker noted that the struggle addresses a shared trauma across Black America, where the remnants of slavery continue to affect generational wealth and historical recognition.
“Black America shares a shared trauma, which is slavery but also the remnants of slavery,” Baker said. “A win like this is a win for all of us because we know all our ancestors put in the kind of work to build the foundation of this country.”
With elders in their 80s among the living descendants, time remains a critical factor in completing these restitutions. But as Fatheree noted, patience and optimism continue to guide the legal path forward, ensuring that unsung heroes like Dave the Potter finally receive the historic justice denied to them in life.
What are your thoughts on how cultural institutions should handle the restitution of art created during slavery? Share your perspective in the comments below.
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