"Toute sa production revele une qualite d'execution de tout premier ordre". With this revealing and categorical phrase, the critics of the Universal Exhibition of 1867 referred to the work of Paul Sormani, an outstanding cabinetmaker who acquired great popularity among the Parisian high society and the imperial family itself in the second half of the 19th century. His exquisite and careful language led him to create luxury pieces such as the one we are now bidding for, an exceptional Louis XVI style cabinet veneered in mahogany wood embellished with fine gilded bronze mounts. Structured architecturally, the cabniet stands on four toupie feet supporting the main body divided into two levels. The lower part has two doors framed by fluted pilasters, while the upper part is decorated with garlands, ribbons and rosettes in the Louis XVI style. Floral friezes of great distinction frame the upper body horizontally, both at the top and bottom. A concave frieze with its sides trimmed and crowned by a baluster tops the piece of furniture at the top.