Case Pieces

A French Ormolu-Mounted Inlaid Kingwood & Marble-Top Petit Commode,  By Paul Sormani
19th Century

A rectangular marble top over two drawers with ormolu mounts over cabriole legs ending in sabots.
The drawer with brass plaque inscribed ‘PAUL SORMANI 10 R CHARLOT PARIS’

Height 32½in.  Width 23 ½ in.  Depth 14 in.

Artist Biography:
Paul Sormani (1817-1877), was born in Venice in 1817, and was a maker of fine ‘meubles de luxe’. His work was described in the catalogue of the 1867 Exposition Universelle as: ‘toute sa production révèle une qualité d’exécution de tout premier ordre’.

Sormani exhibited in Paris in 1849, 1855, 1862, 1867, 1878 and 1900, and in London in 1862, winning numerous medals. Amongst the items Sormani exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle were a Louis XV style bureau and a Louis XVI style commode both based on originals held in the Jones Collection at the South Kensington Museum.

It can be difficult to date Sormani’s work, as the firm produced furniture for nearly ninety years. However, 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’.

Provenance:

Collection of Ludwig Charell, Paris

Dimensions:
Height 32½in. Width 23 ½ in. Depth 14 in.

Inv#: Com50
Louis XV 19th Century Chest of Drawers/Commode

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