230:, as well as a rural, 813-acre tract on the Coosaw River in Prince William Parish. He employed slave labor to farm the latter property. At least 50 of these slaves have been identified by name, and he probably owned others. Shames suggests that the slaves and plantation depicted in the image were Rose's own. However, the broad river in the middle ground raises questions about whether Rose owned property on both sides of this natural boundary and, thus, whether he depicted his own dwelling and outbuildings in the background, or a neighbor's. Rose moved to the
29:
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between two small outbuildings of a plantation sited on a broad river. It is the only known painting of its era that depicts
African Americans by themselves, concerned only with each other, though its central activity remains obscure. Some writers have speculated that the painting depicts a marriage
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In his will, Rose left his watercolor of dancing slaves to his son-in-law, Thomas Davis Stall (1770–1848). According to Shames, it remained in the family for more than a hundred years, until it was finally sold at an auction of the estate of Rose Rowan Ellis Copes (1846–1927) of
250:, probably in 1928 or 1929. It was bought either by an unidentified interim dealer or by Mary Earle Lyles (b. 1878) of Columbia. It was certainly in Lyles' possession by 1935, when it was purchased by Holger Cahill, acting as agent for
185:
The painting shows two male musicians, one of whom is playing an early gourd banjo. This is the earliest known painting to picture a banjo. The second musician is playing a percussion instrument that resembles a Yoruba
178:". However, scholars have suggested that the subjects are performing a secular dance: western African dance patterns traditionally include sticks and a variety of body positions. The headdresses pictured are of
225:
In 1775, Rose was named Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in
Beaufort District, an appointment implying his educated status and familiarity with governing officials. By 1795, he owned a lot in the town of
136:. It is notable for its early date, its credible, non-stereotypical depiction of slaves on the North American mainland, and the fact that the slaves are shown pursuing their own interests. In 2010,
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in which she argues that the artist was the South
Carolina plantation owner John Rose. Shames further suggests that the image depicts slaves on Rose's plantation in what is now
190:. The two women hold what look like scarves, but are actually sheguras, rattles made of a gourd enclosed in a net of variable length into which hard objects have been woven.
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Epstein, Dena J. (Spring 1963), "Slave Music in the United States before 1860: A Survey of
Sources (Part I)",
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254:. According to Lyles, however, it was painted on a plantation between Charleston and Orangeburg. A
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723:"From Attics, Sheds, and Secondhand Shops: Collecting Folk Art in America, 1880–1940"
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620:, 2nd series, vol. 20, no. 2, Music Library Association, pp. 195–212,
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273:. It was later given to Colonial Williamsburg. The painting is currently held by the
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Drawing on
America's Past: Folk Art, Modernism, and the Index of American Design
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Epstein, Dena J. (September 1975), "The Folk Banjo: A Documentary
History",
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For decades the identity of the artist was unknown, as was the painting's
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on the paper has been identified as that used by the
English papermaker
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New
Raiments of Self: African American Clothing in the Antebellum South
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John Rose, and the painting may depict his plantation in what is now
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The
Punished Self: Surviving Slavery in the Colonial South
729:, University of North Carolina Press, pp. 45–60,
210:. However, in 2010, Susan P. Shames, a librarian at
265:Rockefeller and Cahill transferred the painting to
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69:29.7 cm Ă— 45.4 cm (
140:librarian Susan P. Shames identified the
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275:Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
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704:The Old Plantation: The Artist Revealed
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165:Stick dance (African-American)
159:Description and interpretation
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295:Colonial Williamsburg EMuseum
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805:Works about American slavery
601:, Cornell University Press,
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242:after a fall from a horse.
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780:Musical instruments in art
248:Orangeburg, South Carolina
214:, published a book titled
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706:, Colonial Williamsburg,
702:Shames, Susan P. (2010),
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252:Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
208:Columbia, South Carolina
47:possibly 1785–1795
595:Bontemps, Alex (2001),
582:Colonial Williamsburg,
171:African American slaves
39:Attributed to John Rose
785:18th-century paintings
683:Mazow, Leo G. (2005),
588:EMuseum Online Catalog
271:Ludwell–Paradise House
267:Williamsburg, Virginia
206:from Mary E. Lyles of
110:Williamsburg, Virginia
795:Colonial Williamsburg
212:Colonial Williamsburg
194:Artist and provenance
169:The painting depicts
163:Further information:
138:Colonial Williamsburg
687:, Penn State Press,
234:area in present-day
83: in Ă—
685:Picturing the Banjo
668:, Berg Publishers,
765:American paintings
119:The Old Plantation
22:The Old Plantation
760:American folk art
713:978-0-87935-243-1
277:in Williamsburg.
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790:Southern art
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576:Works cited
567:Shames 2010
552:Shames 2010
540:Shames 2010
528:Shames 2010
516:Shames 2010
501:Shames 2010
489:Shames 2010
477:Shames 2010
465:Shames 2010
435:Shames 2010
395:Shames 2010
369:, p. 8
367:Shames 2010
324:Foster 1997
149:slaveholder
754:Categories
409:, p.
407:Mazow 2005
381:, p.
326:, p.
307:, p.
305:Mazow 2005
281:References
240:Charleston
232:Dorchester
200:provenance
134:plantation
127:watercolor
66:Dimensions
60:laid paper
56:Watercolor
256:watermark
97: in)
742:June 17,
228:Beaufort
188:gudugudu
182:origin.
124:folk art
102:Location
92:⁄
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658:850790
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634:894726
632:
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142:artist
36:Artist
654:JSTOR
630:JSTOR
618:Notes
744:2011
731:ISBN
708:ISBN
689:ISBN
670:ISBN
603:ISBN
52:Type
44:Year
646:doi
622:doi
328:314
309:108
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