A fine Louis XV style gilt Bronze mounted table inlaid with a rosewood, amaranth and sycomore "a la reine" marqueterie,
Openning by three central drawer.
The top is also marqueterie inlaid.
Raised on cabriole legs headed by foliate chutes trailing to sabots.
Signed Paul SORMANI, 10, rue Charlot, PARIS.
Paul Sormani was born in Venice in 1817 and later established a highly successfully business in Paris at 10 rue Charlot in 1867. His firm produced furniture in a variety of styles, including excellent quality versions in Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. He exhibited at all the major exhibitions of his time, winning a bronze medal in 1849 and a médaille de première classe in 1855. On his death in 1877 the firm was taken over by his wife and son, who continued the business until 1934.
Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, decorated her palaces with beautiful creations by Paul Sormani whose designs were of a select few favored by the Empress. Revivals of Louis XV and XVI pieces were in high demand among affluent Parisians, and Sormani created many of the finest and most important furnishings of the period.
Napoleon the 3rd period, circa 1880.
References:
Les Ébénistes du XIX Siècle, 1795-1889, 1965, Denise Ledoux-Lebard
France Antiquités magasine N° 136: le Mobilier Sormani.
Artiste:
Paul SORMANI
