Paul Sormani 1817 - 1887 A Régence style gilt bronze mounted kingwood and satiné trellis parquetry régulateur de parquet, Paris, last quarter 19th century, after the celebrated model by Charles Cressent

surmounted by a figure allegorical of Chronos, the black and white enamel dial with Roman numerals and signed P. SORMANI / A PARIS, the lock engraved P. Sormani / 10, rue Charlot, Paris, the carcass stamped three times SORMANI A PARIS

Hugh Roberts, For the King's Pleasure, The Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd, London, 2001, p. 234, fig. 284 for the 18th century model by Charles Cressent

A. Pradère, Charles Cressent sculpteur, ébéniste du Régent, 2003, Dijon, p. 193

Three 18th century examples are known of this model, two made circa 1735, are in the collection of her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, one in the Grand Corridor, visible in a Joseph Nash watercolor, the third is in the permanent coillection of the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 10651).

In an era prior to the widespread introduction of wristwatches in the 20th century, households depended primarily on their clocks to tell the time. These objects were expensive and luxurious items, prominently displayed in the house and were made with accurate movements.

Paul Sormani (1817-1866) established his firm in 1847 at 7, Cimetière Saint-Nicholas in Paris. The location was then changed in 1854 to 114, Rue du Temple, and in 1867 to 10, rue Charlot. He was present at all the major exhibitions with petits meubles de fantaisie, as well as excellent quality reproductions of some of the Garde Meuble National items. The firm won a bronze medal in 1849 and une médaille de première classe in 1855. At the 1867 Exposition Universelle, his work was described as such: ‘toute sa production révèle une qualité d'exécution de tout premier ordre’  ("the whole of his production exhibits craftsmanship of the highest quality"). When Sormani passed away, his son, Paul-Charles (b.1848) took over his father's business alongside his mother, Ursule-Marie Philippine, hence the company’s name change to Sormani Veuve Paul et Fils. In 1914 Paul Charles Sormani formed a partnership with Thiebault Frères, and the firm was moved to 134, Boulevard Haussmann, where it remained until its closure in 1934. The furniture production was of the highest quality in the style of Louis XV and Louis XVI.