Box In Ebony And Inlaid In Mother Of Pearl By Paul Sormani (1817-1877). 19th Century.

BEAUTIFUL BOX IN EBONY AND INLAID IN MOTHER OF PEARL BY THE ELABAN MAKER PAUL SORMANI (1817-1877).
SIGNED ON THE LOCK P. SORMANI, 114 RUE DU TEMPLE PARIS. NAPOLEON III PERIOD CIRCA 1860-1870.
ENGRAVED AND GOLDEN LOCK AND HINGE.
THE BOX IS IN GOOD CONDITION, THE KEY IS MISSING, SOME SMALL IMPERFECTIONS DUE TO AGE.

Paul Sormani, born in Italy in 1817, died in 1877. Initially specialized in the production of trousseaus and small fancy furniture, in 1854 he opened his workshops at 114 rue du Temple in Paris. Casa Sormani immediately experienced great success and became highly appreciated by Parisian high society as well as by the imperial family itself. Empress Eugenie decorated her palaces and various residences in the style of the Ancien Régime. The resort to Sormani's beautiful creations was then inevitable. Casa Sormani presents its works at all the major national and international exhibitions, such as the Industrial Products Exhibition of 1849 or the great Parisian Universal Exhibitions of 1855 and 1867, where Sormani was rewarded by the juries and won the highest awards for its “production that reveals a quality of execution of the highest order”. It was following the Universal Exhibition of 1867 that Sormani developed and moved to 10 rue Charlot, where his workshops took on all their importance. Paul-Charles Sormani, Paul's son, born in 1848, worked with his father then, after the latter's death, continued with his mother, under the company name Veuve Paul Sormani et Fils in Paris. After the 1914 war, they joined Thiébaux and the house was moved to 134 boulevard Haussmann until 1934.