The Greek Slave

Artist Hiram Powers (American, 1805-1873)

Dateafter 1845

DimensionsIncluding Base: 27 1/2 × 21 × 10 in. (69.9 × 53.3 × 25.4 cm)

Mediumwhite marble

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1917.128

Not on View

Label TextThe full-size version of Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave was once the most famous American sculpture. It toured the country in 1847–48, during which it was seen by more than 100,000 paying people. Depicting a Greek maiden, nude, her hands chained, it became a symbol of moral (Christian) purity in the face of “barbarity” (represented by the Turkish Ottoman Empire). The image played on largely imagined (white) cultural fears, but despite the era in which it was produced, there was little commentary at the time linking it to the very real practice of chattel slavery of Black people in the United States. The Greek Slave proved so popular that sculptor Hiram Powers, who worked in Italy, could hardly keep up with the demand for copies. Smaller tabletop versions were produced, as well as bust-length versions like the one in Toledo’s collection.Published References

Crane, Sylvia E., White Silence, Coral Gables, 1972, pp. 16, 122, 203-205, 211-224, 232, 237, 240, 243, 263-264, 269, 331, 338, 355, 449.

Reynolds, Donald M., Hiram Powers and His Ideal Sculpture, New York, 1977, p. 1079.

Wunder, Richard P., Hiram Powers: Vermont Sculptor, 1805-1873, Newark, Delaware, 1991, vol. 2, p. 168, 174 (no. 202-205, replica no. 64).

Ambrosini, Lynne, Hiram Powers: Genius in Marble, Cincinnati, Taft Museum, 2007, no. 10, p. 52-53, repr. (col.).

Exhibition History

Cincinnati, Taft Museum of Art, Hiram Powers: Genius in Marble, May 18-Aug. 12, 2007.