MMCC is fortunate to have in its permanent collection an incredible example of Drake’s work. This exhibition is an opportunity to draw attention to the beauty and importance of the monumental jar as both a work of art and a historic marker of a time and place.

The MMCC’s Drake will be exhibited in conjunction with two smaller vessels from local collections attributed to the maker. The inclusion of these works is intended to clarify the original utilitarian purpose of these ceramic storage vessels while also providing insight into Drake’s skill. That he chose to embellishment selected jars with poetry and sign his name to them demonstrates a self-awareness and an intentionality that was exceptional in the mid-nineteenth century and marks him as a true artist.

A second gallery installation features ceramic work by contemporary artist Zipporah Camille Thompson. Thompson is a ceramist, weaver, and sculptor who lives and works in Atlanta. Her work fuses old and new, referencing ancient cultures and millennial predilections. The goal is to invest mundane objects with “sympathetic magic,” an undefined but sensed presence that is embodied in the work. To place Thompson’s work on exhibition with David Drake is to draw a connection between the two makers who belong to very different worlds but who both seek or sought to make something special out of something ordinary.