Amon Carter print details

Bust of the "Greek Slave"

Hiram Powers (1805-1873)

Object Details

  • Date

    after 1845-1846

  • Object Type

    Sculptures

  • Medium

    Marble

  • Dimensions

    25 1/2 x 19 x 10 in.

  • Inscriptions

    Inscribed, on back underside of truncation: H. POWERS \ Sculp.

  • Credit Line

    Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Purchase with funds from the Ruth Carter Stevenson Acquisitions Endowment

  • Accession Number

    2000.14

  • Copyright

    Public domain

Object Description

A life-size rendition of a nude woman in chains, the Greek Slave was one of the most popular sculptures in 19th-century America. Exhibited throughout the United States during the 1840s, the work proved so popular that Powers reproduced the woman’s iconic features in smaller versions such as this marble bust.

Powers’s sculpture portrays a Greek woman about to be sold into slavery. Inspired by the recent Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire, the subject also resonated within antebellum debates about American slavery. Abolitionists touted the Greek Slave as sympathetic to their cause, although the sculpture also proved popular in the pro-slavery South. Powers elected to portray this soon-to-be enslaved woman with characteristically White features, allowing viewers to avoid drawing a connection to enslaved African Americans if they wished. Smaller busts like this eliminate visual references to slavery altogether, focusing instead on the woman’s demure gaze.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023).

Additional details

Location: Off view
W28-artist-CMYK-CarterBlack
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