Aiken Antique Show's offerings include historic stoneware by David Drake

Feb. 3—Visitors to Philip Wingard's Southern Decorative Arts booth on Friday at the Aiken Antiques Show could view some valuable pieces of South Carolina history.

There were four pots and one jug that Wingard said had been "attributed to" David Drake, who also is known as Dave the Potter, for sale.

The prices for the individual pieces of stoneware ranged from $4,000 to $35,000.

"It's got everything but Dave's name on it," said Wingard of the most expensive offering. "It's got the two slash marks, the 'LM' for Lewis Miles and the date."

As a slave in the 1800s, Drake became a well-known and prolific potter in the Old Edgefield District. Lewis Miles was among his owners.

Drake's works are included in an exhibit, "Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The stoneware will be on view there through Feb. 5 and then will be displayed at other locations later this year and in 2024.

In addition to Drake pieces, Wingard, who lives in Clover, South Carolina, had vessels made by other potters in South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina in his booth.

"I'm a pottery collector and dealer," Wingard said. "I fell in love with pots when I was 36 years old. During a Christmas tour of homes, I went into the house of a friend of mine who was a preacher in Lincolnton, North Carolina. He had Burlon Craig face jugs, and I had never seen anything like them."

Wingard, who owned a men's clothing store at the time, was so impressed that he changed careers.

"I sold out and went straight into all this," said Wingard, who has curated several museum pottery exhibits. "Things were revealed to me step by step, and eventually I became part of the research and the scholarship. I wrote an article about Thomas Chandler (another Edgefield potter) that was published in 'Ceramics in America.'

"To me this is living the dream," he added.

Wingard is a fan of the alkaline glazes that Drake, Chandler and their contemporaries used.

"It was an old Chinese formula, and it was a wonderful glaze to put on stoneware so you could preserve food safely," Wingard said. "Prior to it in the South, they were using lead glazes, and lead glazes aren't healthy for you. The alkaline glaze is utilitarian and very beautiful."

Also available for purchase Friday at the Aiken Center for the Arts on the opening day of the Aiken Antique Show were furniture, jewelry, Oriental rugs, designer handbags, wood-carved birds and a variety of other items.

Bud Coward, who was helping out with security early in the morning, bought a lamp with a dog on its base.

"I don't know the history of it or anything. I just liked the dog," Coward said. "It looks like a long-haired Labrador retriever, and I had a dog that looked very similar to it. I found it when I was making my rounds."

Linda Knox McLean attended the Antique Show with one of her sons, Richard Schmon, who recently moved here from Canada.

"It's a pretty expensive realm here, but it's fun to look at beautiful things," McLean said.

Sharon Hagan, Sarah Malaby and Barbara Smoak are the co-chairs of this year's Antique Show.

Proceeds support the Aiken Center for the Arts.

During the Cocktails & Collectors Preview Party on Thursday, "we had around 400 people attend," Hagan said. "I think that's the largest turnout that we've ever had. This is our only fundraiser of the year now, and it's a premier event. Everyone in Aiken just loves it."

The Antique Show continues through Sunday. The public can attend from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets cost $20 apiece.

There are 20 or so vendors.

The Aiken Center for the Arts is at 122 Laurens Street S.W.