Blog No. 5  October 2nd, 2022

Hello everyone,

Many thanks to Maria Livanos who told me about the show Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Edgefield, South Carolina" currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum.

It is a powerful and often haunting exhibit of stoneware pieces made by enslaved African-American men, women and children the decades before the Civil War (1861-1865) in a clay rich area at Edgefield, in South Carolina.  The clay pieces are durable
impervious, utilitarian containers used for food storage and in food preparation.  The pieces through their artistry and creative ingenuity, tell a story of brutal oppression of the enslaved individuals and the harsh and often inhumane working conditions under which the potters worked and sometimes died.

Here are some visuals:   

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These "face" vessels were owned by Mamie Deveaux, an African American ritual expert who worked in Savannah, Georgia,  throughout the 20th century making them the only Edgefield face jugs with a known connection to the practice of African American folk religion.  They may have been used in rituals or healing practice will into the 20th century.

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Contemporary pieces inspired by the Edgefield potters.

Thanks for following the blog.  Until next time.

Catherine