After Giambologna (Italian, 1521-1608): A large bronze figural group of the Abduction of a Sabine Woman Probably late 19th century, green patination, 83cm high, 30cm wide Giambologna’s representation of ‘Abduction of a Sabine Woman’(1574-1582) intended this work to demonstrate his abiltity in rendering a complex figural group. The title and subject was only assigned to the piece after Francesco I de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1541-1587) decreed that it should be placed in a prominent public position in Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria in Florence. The sculpture is widely considered to be one of Giambologna’s masterpieces and was carved from a single block of marble. ‘The Abduction of a Sabine Woman’ refers to the event in Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the region, a subject which was often depcited by artists during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras.