The Acacia Collection’s Edgefield Face Vessel:

An Edgefield face vessel sold last fall at Slotin Folk Art Auction in Gainesville, Georgia. Unlike many similar objects that appear at auction, this piece appears to have a potentially valuable provenance. Mr. Derrick Beard, a collector of African-American Decorative Arts, purchased the face vessel, along with a Thomas Day secretary. Mr. Beard was featured in this article in Antiques and The Arts Weekly immediately following the close of the sale.

The lot description was as follows: Slave-Made Edgefield Face Vessel. c. 1860’s. Alkaline glazed stoneware, African American kaolin eyes and teeth. Produced by slave potters in Edgefield District, S.C. 6.75″ h. Professionally repaired handle and rim, otherwise excellent condition. Provenance: H. Paul Blatner, Savannah, GA, The Acacia Collection and The Old Slave Mart Museum. Exhibited Winston-Salem State University, 1995-1996. Featured in AMERICAN VISIONS – AUG. 1990, TIME LIFE Books African American

Voices of Triumph: Creative Fire 1994, Vol. 3, Page 197, WORLD 1994.

Further provenance provided on an information sheet titled “Acacia Historical Arts International Collection” reads: Face vessels or grotesque jugs as they are sometimes called have been mystery items of American pottery. Although they have an African origin, they are produced by white Americans as well. However, this Edgefield, SC piece is undoubtedly of African American origin. See AMERICAN VISIONS mag. 1990. The uniqueness of this face vessel lies in the fact that it is to date the only face vessel that has been linked with a practitioner [sic] voodoo. In this case, a Savannah black lady who told Mr. Blatner at the time of sale, “It is powerful.”Mrs. Mamie DeVeaux and her family were from Coosawhatchie, S.C. where such practices were common place [sic]. Mr. Blater, a trained museum curator, retains documentary evidence of this practice by Mrs. DeVeaux who earned a very good living advising and counselling [sic] clientele in the city Savannah. Mr. Blatner originally purchased this face vessel for his own personal collection. He guarantees it to be of 19^thcentury vintage and not a 20^thcentury copy.  This item is similar to Plate VII in THE AFRO AMERICAN TRADITION IN DECORATIVE ARTS by John Michael Vlach,1978.

 Howard Paul Blatner was a well-known scholar, collector, historian and antiquarian; as well as a Savannah native. He was active in many historic venues, a passionate bottle collector, co-founder of the Great Savannah Exhibition (now the Savannah History Museum), and the museum’s first curator. Sadly, Mr. Blatner passed away in 2015.

The Acacia Collection of African Americana was formally organized in 1989, although Mr. Greene had been collecting objects during the year’s prior. A short biography of Mr. Greene per Emory University reads: Carroll Theodore Greene, Jr. was born on June 17, 1931. Greene lectured, curated many exhibits, and published widely on the work of Africa American artists. In 1967, he co-curated “The Evolution of Afro-American Artists: 1800-1959” with Romare Bearden at the College of the City

University of New York. In 1968, he began a fellowship in Museum Studies at the Smithsonian Institute, where he played a role in adding to the museum’s collection of African American artifacts. He published American Visions, Afro-American Art-1986 in 1987. He was a founding member, curator, and executive director of the Acacia Collection of African Americana, which he formed in 1989. Greene died at his home in Savannah on May 30, 2007.

Traditionally in the literature this type of face vessel has been attributed to the Miles Mill or Sunnybrook pottery located on the present day Edgefield and Aiken county line based on the unique, flat top spout. While the spout and handle on the Slotin piece has been restored, it appears to be modeled after Plate VII in Vlach’s book mentioned above. Another very similar example from the Marcus Benjamin Collection can be found here at The National Museum of American History. Dr. Benjamin wrote extensively about ceramics beginning in the 1890s and was thanked for his “valuable assistance and advice” in the preface to The Pottery and Porcelain of the United States by Dr. Edwin Altee Barber, 1893.

The Edgefield District of South Carolina was located in the southwestern portion of the state. The Landrum family began producing stoneware in the area about 1810, and this practice continued at multiple locales into the 20^thcentury. On 6 November 1867, Lewis J. Miles announced that he would be moving all of his business operations, including his stoneware manufactory, to Miles Mill. Prior to this announcement, Miles had worked with his father in law, Reverend John Landrum, in the early 1840s, and later established his own pottery known as the Stony Bluff Manufactory around 1848. Miles move strategically placed his ventures within close vicinity of the railroad, and a specific, scheduled stop at Miles Mill. In Leonard Todd’s Carolina Clay he confirmed that Miles died not long after his move to Miles Mill. He also confirmed that the Stony Bluff Manufactory was leased to freedmen. John L. Miles, son of L.J. Miles, appears to have been manufacturing stoneware at Miles Mill from the time of his father’s death through at least 1880. Based on proximity among the 1870 U.S. Census, potters at Miles Mill may have included David Drake, Mark Jones, Brister Jones, Thomas Jones and Phillip Miles. Likewise, in 1880, potters at Miles Mill may have included William F. Hahn, Mark Jones, Jack Thurman, and Archie Thurman. Joseph G. Baynham may have started manufacturing stoneware prior to 1880 as well, although he was not found among the industrial schedules recorded for the year beginning 1 June 1879 and ending 31 May1880.

What about Mrs. Mamie DeVeaux? How did she gain possession of the piece? If Mr. Greene formally organized the Acacia Collection in 1989, Mr. Blatner most likely purchased the piece pre-emptive to the Acacia as it was part of his personal collection.

Who am I looking for in the documentary record? An African American woman, married at some point, described as “old” (subjectively born about 1900 +/- 15 years) at the time she sold the face vessel, which was likely prior to 1989; and who was originally from the Coosawhatchie area, and might have later lived in Savannah, Georgia. (All within the lifetime of Mr. Blatner who was born 1957).

Coosawhatchie, South Carolina remains an unincorpated community in Jasper County at the head of the Broad River. Prior to 1912, Jasper County was part of Beaufort County, and in 1880, Hampton County encompassed a portion of Beufort County. In the 19^thand early 20^thcentury, the nearest major town was Ridgeland and other surrounding communities included Gillionsville, Pocotilago, and Sheldon. At the time the 1870 U.S. Census was recorded, individuals living in Coosawhatchie, Pocataligo, and the vicinity would have most likely been enumerated at Gardens Corner, near Sheldon. In 1870, one family by the surname Deveaux and its derivations was found. By 1880, there were eighty-three individuals with the Deveaux surname in Beaufort County, and an additional fifteen in neighboring Hampton County. (SeeMap)

 

By 1920, there were four individuals named Mamie Deveaux living in either Beaufort or Jasper County, South Carolina. Mamie Devoe (b. 1920) was living in St. Helena with her grandparents. Mamie Deveaux (b. 1906) was living near Sheldon with her parents, James and Hattie. Mamie Deveaux (b. 1892) was living near Coosawhatchie with her husband Benjamin (b. 1885), Earl W. (b. 1920) and Reius (b.1845). There was also a Mamie Devaux (b. 1879) living with her husband, John, in Savannah,Georgia.

By 1930, Mamie Devoe (b. 1919) continued living with her grandparents. Mamie Deveaux (b. 1906), daughter of James and Hattie, was not present in Jasper or the surrounding counties, nor was she present in Chatham County, Georgia. Mamie Deveaux (b. 1910) was living with her father, Kit Wade near Pocatilago. The household following Kit’s contained Ben Deveaux (b.1888), his son Earle (b. 1920) and daughter Irdell [Thelma] (b. 1923). Mamie’s birth year, in this case appears to have been on error on either the census taker, or reporting individual (neither of which were uncommon) since it would have been highly improbable that she was married and gave birth to Earl at age 10.

Mamie’s father, Kitt Wade was born about 1855 and was identified as a “doctor” on two of his three death certificates as well as a grave marker place at the Moncepoe Cemetery by his daughter Ardell W. Bass. The Moncepoe or Mont Repose cemetery, and its history is an article unto itself. Since formal training was unlikely, one may infer that he may have practiced a craft that was passed down to him from his elders, and from him to his children. In 1938, Mamie Wade Deveaux’s father died. As the informant on one of his death certificate, she signed “Mamie Wade.” In turn, Ben Deveaux was living alone in Coosawhatchie at the time the 1940

U.S. Census was recorded. Meanwhile, Mamie and her children were living in Savannah no later than 1940. Although Mamie married for a second time, she appears to have used the Deveaux surname periodically after her second husband passed away. Mamie made a living in Savannah by working as a fortuneteller for the majority of her life. This included writing spells and recipes, reading a crystal ball, tarot cards, et cetera.

 This compilation of evidence in combination with Mr. Blatner’s accession statement and documentary evidence strongly suggests that Mamie Wade Deveaux was in possession of the face vessel that now belongs to Mr. Beard. On a personal note, I look forward to further exploring the genealogy and material culture related to this family and region of South Carolina.

 

References Available Upon Request.

© Copyright November 2017 (Corbett E. Toussaint)

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