P. Sormani, Louis XV Style Table, France, Circa 1870

Signed on the keylock P. SORMANI PARIS 10 rue Charlot

Charming Louis XV style table, opening with three drawers, veneered with satinwood and kingwood. The waved rectangular tray, adorned with a floral bois-de-bout marquetry, is circled by a gilded bronze mold. It rests on four cabriole legs surmounted by a gilt-bronze mount and ending on cast feet.

Biography :
Paul Sormani, born in Italy in 1817, dead in 1877, specialized at first in the making of small furniture. He installed 1854 his workshops at the n°114 rue du Temple in Paris. The Sormani company knew then a great success and was much in favour with the Imperial Family as well as with the Paris high society. Empress Eugénie furnished then her palaces in the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, with some of Sormani’s creations. Presenting his work at all important fairs, such the 1849 Exposition of the Industrial Products or the Universal Exhibitions from 1855 until 1867, Sormani was then honored by jurys for his « production of high standard quality » and won the highest awards. In 1867, by the time of the great Universal Exhibition, Sormani enlarged and transfered his workshops to the n°10 rue Charlot. When Paul Sormani died in 1877, his wife and son took over the business and from this date onwards pieces are normally signed « Veuve Sormani & Fils à Paris ». After World War I, they went into partnership with Thiébaux and the company premises were then installed at n°134 boulevard Haussmann until 1934.