An important and fine Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted marquetry commode. Paul Sormani. fourth quarter 19th century
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An important and fine Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted marquetry commode
Paul Sormani
fourth quarter 19th century
The serpentine shaped breche d'alep marble top with stepped edge and outset rounded corners above a two drawers sans traverse with floral marquetry, feather and leaf cast scrolling encadrements and centering a shell mount; the outset corners headed by gilt bronze espagnolettes continuing to scrolled leaf cast sabots, the serpentine case sides with floral marquetry and encadrements; the lock plate inscribed Paul Sormani, 10 Rue Charlot, Paris.
height 36 1/2in (92cm); width 74in (188cm); depth 26 1/2in (67cm)

Sold for US$ 116,500 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • Paul Charles Sormani was born into a family of noted ebenistes, his father Paul Sormani, established his business in the first half of the 19th century and in 1867 received the Medaille d'Or at the Exposition Universelle. Sormani's clients were the affluent connoisseurs of France as well as the nobility of Europe and influential citizens internationally. Among these are Napoleon III, Empress Eugenie, Tsar Alexander III and the Vanderbilts.

    The offered commode is nearly identical to a Paul Charles Sormani commode illustrated in Camille Mestdagh's book L'Ameublement d'Art Francais 1850-1900, (Les Editions de Amateur, 2010), page 123. That illustrated commode is in the collection of the Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park, located in Louise Vanderbilt's bedroom. Ms. Mestdagh points out that Tsarkoie-Selo Palace also has a commode of this model. The provenance of the Tsarkoie commode is not known, as the palace was emptied after the Revolution and later furnished with objects that came from many residences of the nobility.

    An identical commode by Sormani, with the same breche d'Alep marble top, was sold in these rooms, June 14, 2010, lot 5303.

Category: Furniture / Fine Furniture and Works of Art

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