Extremely Rare Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Jar with Incised Inscription, attributed to David Drake, Lewis Miles's Stony Bluff Manufactory, Horse Creek Valley, Edgefield District, SC, circa 1850, ovoid jar with semi-rounded and raised lug handles, incised under one handle with a four-word, two-line inscription, possibly reading "The Last / Sermon's Warning," which appears to be in the hand of David Drake. Lightly incised under opposing handle with two large slash marks, a David Drake hallmark. Surface covered in a gray-green alkaline glaze. Few examples of Drake's work have survived with hand-incised inscriptions outside of pieces bearing dates, his signature, or the name of his enslaver, Lewis Miles. This jar's inscription may have Christian religious overtones, as seen on a number of Drake's verse-decorated vessels. It is an excellent example of coil-building, a technique used in the production of Edgefield stoneware that was recently brought to light by Robert Hunter, evident in the fingermarks and crude shaping on the interior base of the vessel. This method of manufacture was demonstrated by potter, Michelle Erickson, in her presentation "RE-coiling and Master Potter David Drake," at the 2026 Ceramics Symposium, "Clay Stories," held at Colonial Williamsburg from June 4-6, 2026. Exhibited: Georgia Museum of Art, 2010-2021. Provenance: Charlton Hall Galleries, Inc., Cayce, SC, June 5-6 2010; Carl and Marian Mullis Collection; Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC, July 10, 2021, lot 827. A sealed 7" hairline from rim. Otherwise minor flaws: minor rim wear, a few minor nicks to one handle, a narrow, in-the-firing surface fissure above each handle, some typical small in-the-firing pings, some faint surface lines to exterior (likely in the firing), some in-the-firing matte areas to glaze along base area, and in-the-firing surface fissures to interior. H 15".
