Hampton University Museum in Virginia will become the first Historically Black College or University to display work by David Drake, the enslaved ceramicist known as "Dave the Potter." The museum announced it will accept the loan of a historic stoneware vessel by Drake from the artist's descendants, unveiling it at a private Homecoming reception on 21 October. The jar will remain on view through May 2027 alongside works by Henry O. Tanner, Thomas Day and other 19th-century Black artisans in the collection.

The vessel's journey to Hampton runs through one of the art world's most closely watched restitution gestures. Artist Theaster Gates previously owned the jar and transferred ownership to Drake's heirs in May 2026, during his Gagosian gallery exhibition honoring Drake's life and work - a move widely described as setting a precedent for returning artworks by enslaved makers to their families. The descendants, who estimate that around 200 of Drake's surviving works are still held by museums and collectors, have asked institutions to return the pieces while keeping them on public view, and a growing number are agreeing.

Drake (ca. 1800-ca. 1870) was born into slavery in South Carolina's Edgefield District and produced an estimated 40,000 stoneware jars in bondage. Defying anti-literacy laws at mortal risk, he inscribed his name and original poems on the vessels - works he would never legally be allowed to own. His profile has soared in the past decade: a 25-gallon jar fetched $1.56 million at Crocker Farm in 2021, a world record for American pottery, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2022 exhibition "Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield" traced his legacy across the country.