Folk Art Society of America – fasa
Auction Ends: Oct 16, 2022 12:00 AM EDT

Books

Carolina Clay - Life & Legend of Dave

Item Number
205
Estimated Value
50 USD
Opening Bid
5 USD

The winning bid will go to FrontStream Global Fund (tax ID 26-3265577), a 501c3 nonprofit organization, which will send the donation to Folk Art Society of America (tax ID 541415937) on behalf of the winner.

Live Event Item

After the online close, this item went to a Live Event for further bidding. Absentee Bidding offered.

Item Description

Hard cover book 'Carolina Clay - the Life & Legend of the Slave Potter Dave' by Leonard Todd. The compelling story of a slave, owned by the author's ancestors, who became one of the singular artists of the nineteenth century.

Item Special Note

His pots and storage jars were everyday items, but because of their beauty and massive size, and because Dave signed and inscribed many with poems, they now fetch seven figures at auction. We know of no other slave artist who dared to put his name on his work, a dangerous advertisement of literacy. Fascinated by the man and by this troubling family history, Leonard Todd moved from Manhattan to Edgefield, South Carolina, where his ancestors had established a thriving pottery industry in the early 1800s. Todd studied each of Dave's poems for biographical clues, which he pieced together with local records and family letters to create this moving and dramatic chronicle of Dave's life ― a story of creative triumph in the midst of slavery. Many of Dave's astounding jars are found now in America's finest museums. 8 pages of color; 31 black & white

Donated By:

Alexander Patrick