The publication is dedicated by Giorgio Marescotti to M. Agnolo Di Bernardo Strozzi.
Summary Note
The text consists of Italian and Latin verses in praise of Giambologna's three-figure statue of the Rape of a Sabine; which he made in 1581 and 1582 for the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. (Giambologna's wax models for this composition are preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.) The legend of the abduction of Sabine women by the Romans in order to populate their own state is told by Livy and by Plutarch. The subject was been treated by Poussin, Rubens, David, Picasso and others.
The booklet is decorated with headpieces, tailpieces, decorated initials and a title-page vignette (printer's device).
Provenance
The front pastedown carries the (19th-century?) bookplate of Luigi Fortunato Pieri; and is inscribed in pencil, 'S:A:H', i.e. S.A. Hart, librarian of the Royal Academy 1864-81.
Binding Note
19th-century marbled-papered boards; green morocco spine-label lettered 'Composizioni In Lode Della Sabina Firenze 1583'. Bound with one other.