19TH CENTURY, ONE IMPRESSED WITH A CROWN AND INVERTED N MARK TO SIDE OF BASE

In circa 1589 Francesco I de Medici commissioned a monumental group in marble from Giambologna, which was to prove to be the climax of his career as a sculptor in marble. Michelangelo had never realised his own project for a three figure sculptural group, but Giambologna took up his recommendation that it should be pyramidal; it was the first major sculptural group that had no preponderant views. It was not carved with a fixed subject in mind but it is said that Giambologna later decided that the Rape of the Sabines would be most appropriate. It is situated in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, where it was joined in 1865 by The Rape of Polyxena by Pio Fedi.