Fifth version, acquired by Edward H. Scott at auction, Paris, 1870

Upon Prince Demidoff’s death in 1870 his collection was auctioned in Paris. The Greek Slave sold for 53,000 francs to a Mr. Phillips of London (possibly the auctioneer Phillips of Bond Street, who had sold the first version to the Duke of Cleveland in 1859).[1] Art Journal reported the price as £2120 and noted that Demidoff’s Fisher Boy sold for £260. Phillips was likely acting for a client, as the statue quickly came into the possession of Edward H. Scott (1842–83), the 5th baronet of Lytchett Minster, of 27 Grosvenor Square in London. On May 5, 1870, Scott wrote to Powers about his acquisition and enquired whether it was “the original Slave or only a copy.”[2] Powers recognized that patrons felt their statues were devalued by other versions. A few weeks later he wrote to Edwin W. Stoughton, the owner of the sixth and final version, speculating that the high price paid for Demidoff’s Greek Slave was “on account of my letter to you in which I promised never to execute another without your consent.”[3]