19th Century Inlaid Desk Mounted With Gilded Bronzes, By Paul Sormani

Elegant center desk, made of exotic wood and inlaid with various precious woods.

Entirely inlaid in every minimum detail, painstaking work made by a great 19th century cabinetmaker, Paul Sormani. The desk top has a crazy inlay that almost looks like an oil painting.

Plate engraved with "PAUL SORMANI 10.r. Charlot Paris" positioned in the central drawer.

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.