Object Description
An Elegant Pair of Matched Side Tables in the Louis XV Manner
By Paul Sormani of Paris
Constructed from kingwood with tulipwood crossbanding and ormolu-mounts; the rectangular tables supported on slender sabot-shod cabriole legs; the shoulders dressed with floral espagnolettes; the sides dressed with quarter-veneered kingwood with the central serpentine apron housing a single lockable twin-handled drawer; the top exhibiting a floral marquetry pattern on a book-matched ground with a brass guard rail. One signed ‘Sormani Paris / 134, boulvd Haussmann’ on the lockplate.
French, circa 1915
Paul Sormani
Paul Sormani (1817-1877) was a preeminent Italian-born cabinetmaker who moved to Paris in 1847 and quickly established himself as a master of luxury furniture. He opened his first workshop in Paris that year, and later settled in Rue Charlot in 1867, where he produced high-quality items of standard and fantasy furniture described as “meubles de luxe.” Sormani’s exquisite craftsmanship, use of rare woods, gilded bronze decorations, and Boulle style inlays attracted the attention of the French aristocracy, including Empress Eugenie, who commissioned him for her royal residences. Sormani’s work earned him numerous awards and accolades, including medals at the Paris and London Expositions. His workshop remained in business until 1934, a testament to his lasting legacy as one of the most important ébénistes of his time.