Paolo Triscornia Italian, 1757-1833

This sculpture is in good stable condition. The surface of the marble is dirty from nicotine stains but can be easily restored. Please talk to the department for estimates. A piece of the daughter's hair is now lost and there is an exposed pin. There are minor chips, pitting and rubbing to surface at high points. The base: there are splatters of paint and minor chips to areas of joints between separate pieces. Some repaired fissures to bottom of socle. Two shells on reverse are missing. Once cleaned this will be an even more spectacular piece.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Little is known of the Tuscan sculptor Paolo Triscornia yet his sculptural prowess, manifest in his extant marbles after the antique, is awe-inspiring. Triscornia spent most of his career in Saint Petersburg. The Russian city holds the highest concentration of his work. Triscornia sculptures now in the Hermitage include Laocoon (1789), Cupid and Psyche, Diana and Endymion and a copy of Gian-Lorenzo Bernini's Apollo and Daphne.  Triscornia also worked on the sculptural program at Michàjlovskij, the residence of Peter I and carved full-scale replicas of the ancient Horse Tamers for the gates of the riding school of the Russian Imperial Guard.  

Triscornia's inarrative marble of the Thomas Campbell poem, Lord Ullin's Daughter, is divergent from the sculptor's known oeuvre in its originality and inventiveness.  How a Tuscan sculptor who spent much of his time in Saint Petersburg became acquainted with the poetry of a sentimental Scot renowned for his genre poetry can only be left to conjecture.  Lord Ullin's daughter, one of Campbell's most famous poems, tells the story of a young couple fleeing the woman's father to marry.  Sadly, the star-crossed lovers instead meet the peril of the sea and, ultimately, a tragic fate.  Triscornia captures the scene of the boatmen and his passengers crossing the Lochgyle in "dark and stormy weather."  The sculptor's handling of the marble is so descriptive that one can feel the waves lapping over the small vessel, the shivers of the bonny bride and the nervous excitement shared with her lover.

RELATED LITERATURE
Panzetta, vol. 2, p. 912; Haskell & Penny, p. 140; Passeggia, p.261-264

A chieftain, to the Highlands bound,
Cries, ``Boatman, do not tarry!
And I'll give thee a silver pound
To row us o'er the ferry!''--

``Now, who be ye, would cross Lochgyle,
This dark and stormy weather?''
``O, I'm the chief of Ulva's isle,
And this, Lord Ullin's daughter.--

``And fast before her father's men
Three days we've fled together,
For should he find us in the glen,
My blood would stain the heather.

``His horsemen hard behind us ride;
Should they our steps discover,
Then who will cheer my bonny bride
When they have slain her lover?''--

Out spoke the hardy Highland wight,--
``I'll go, my chief--I'm ready:--
It is not for your silver bright;
But for your winsome lady:

``And by my word! the bonny bird
In danger shall not tarry;
So, though the waves are raging white,
I'll row you o'er the ferry.''--

By this the storm grew loud apace,
The water-wraith was shrieking;
And in the scowl of heaven each face
Grew dark as they were speaking.

But still as wilder blew the wind,
And as the night grew drearer,
Adown the glen rode armèd men,
Their trampling sounded nearer.--

``O haste thee, haste!'' the lady cries,
``Though tempests round us gather;
I'll meet the raging of the skies,
But not an angry father.''--

The boat has left a stormy land,
A stormy sea before her,--
When, O! too strong for human hand,
The tempest gather'd o'er her.

And still they row'd amidst the roar
Of waters fast prevailing:
Lord Ullin reach'd that fatal shore,--
His wrath was changed to wailing.

For, sore dismay'd through storm and shade,
His child he did discover:--
One lovely hand she stretch'd for aid,
And one was round her lover.

``Come back! come back!'' he cried in grief
``Across this stormy water:
And I'll forgive your Highland chief,
My daughter!--O my daughter!''

'Twas vain: the loud waves lash'd the shore,
Return or aid preventing:
The waters wild went o'er his child,
And he was left lamenting.