Although he is among the least known of the like-minded French Art Deco furniture designers of his era, André Sornay introduced innovative fabrication techniques and a unique decorative style to his modernist seating, case pieces and other creations.
Sornay was born in Lyon in 1902, and graduated from École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in 1918. His career as a furniture designer began in 1919 when he was appointed head of his family’s furniture company after his father’s death.
In the early 1920s — inspired by the Bauhaus and De Stijl as well as his friends and fellow French avant-garde designers Francis Jourdain and Pierre Chareau — Sornay shifted the company’s focus from manufacturing period reproductions to creating contemporary designs.
Sornay’s work fused tradition with modernism. He preferred to work with metals, exotic woods such as mahogany and rosewood, rubber and Duco lacquer for a range of cabinets, desks, chairs and mirrors. Sornay’s pieces featured sleek brass drawer pulls and sharply geometric lines, and the distinctive mode that he worked in was known throughout Lyon as “Le Style Sornay.”
Sornay was also recognized for his inventive design methods that were not only decorative but functional. In 1932, he patented the cloudage technique — studding the perimeter of veneered furniture panels with uniform brass nails. Sornay integrated this technique into his wardrobes, side tables and the armchairs he designed, which were frequently defined by clean lines and sharp angles. In the early 1950s, he also patented a technique called the “Tigette,” which allowed for quick and easy assembly or disassembly of modular furniture — a forerunner to IKEA’s flat-packed furniture.
While Sornay isn’t as well known as other European modernists like Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, he attracted modest attention at exhibitions of the day, such as the 1923 Salon d’Automne and the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, the design fair that brought the Art Deco style to the world. He was awarded the bronze medal at Paris’s Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in 1937.
In the late 1950s, Sornay ceded control of his furniture design company to his children, remaining as an advisor until production ceased in 1999. He died the following year.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage André Sornay case pieces and storage cabinets, seating and tables.
Rare Modernist Stool by Andre Sornay
By Andre Sornay
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cowhide upholstered stool by Andre Sornay. Made in France circa 1930s. Literature: Thierry Roche, André Sornay 1902-2000, Paris, 2002
Metal
Mahogany bed by André Sornay, France circa 1960
By Andre Sornay
Located in VILLEURBANNE, FR
Mahogany bed designed by André Sornay around 1960, produced using the patented Tigette assembly system that characterizes the Lyon workshop's production during the mid twentieth cen...
Wood
André Sornay, Armchair, Wood, Leather, France, 1940s
By Andre Sornay
Located in High Point, NC
A red leather and wood armchair designed and produced by André Sornay, France, 1940s. Heavy wear on arm rests with natural dry cracking. Moderate wear to fabric (residue buildup an...
Leather, Wood
Rare Thonet B 313 Stool by Josef Frank
By Josef Frank, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Designed for Haus & Garten, Vienna, c. 1928, manufactured by Thonet-Mundus AG. Dimensions: height 39 cm, 45 x 42 cm. Very good original condition, firm and stable. Some former woodwo...
Beech
Slipper Chair in the Style of André Sornay
By Andre Sornay
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slipper chair in the style of André Sornay. Handcrafted in Los Angeles in the workshop of noted French designer and antiques dealer Denis de le Mesiere, who pays homage to the work...
Brass
Rare Japanese Stool by Soetsu Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Uccle, BE
This stool was made in 1936 for the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum. Made of Japanese cherry wood and seagrass. Today, you can still see the original benches made for this museum. Yanagi Soetsu (1889 – 1961), also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and founder of the Mingei (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. His son, Sori Yanagi, was a renowned industrial designer. In 1916, Yanagi made his first trip to Korea out of curiosity about Korean crafts. The trip led to the establishment of the Korean Folk Crafts Museum in 1924 and the coining of the term mingei by Yanagi, potters Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) and Kawai Kanjiro...
Seagrass, Cherry
$1,070
H 27.96 in W 22.05 in D 20.87 in
Mid-Century Modern Armchair by André Sornay, Wood, France, Circa 1960
By Andre Sornay
Located in VILLEURBANNE, FR
Simplicity and elegance for these armchairs by the Lyon cabinetmaker and designer André Sornay. Solid pine uprights assemble by threaded rods, a system patented by Sornay himself, c...
Wood
Pair of Armchairs by André Sornay, France 1960s
By Andre Sornay
Located in VILLEURBANNE, FR
Pair of armchairs by designer André Sornay. The latter, originally from Lyon, is the inventor of various patented assembly systems including the so-called "tigette" system. The seat...
Wood, Fabric
Rare White Gessoed Back Stool by Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in Montreal, QC
Rare white gessoed back stool by Andre Arbus.
Beech
Pine Andre Sornay armchair, France, 1950's
By Andre Sornay
Located in Austin, TX
Pine armchair by Andre Sornay, French designer known for his sublime simplicity. France, 1950's.
Pine
Beech chairs by André Sornay
By Andre Sornay
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Vintage dining chair by French designer André Sornay. It is manufactured with a design that is assembled by tightening bolts from one side. Manufacturer is his own workshop, Sornay M...
Beech
Modernist Rattan Stool, France, 1960's
By Louis Sognot
Located in New York, NY
Modernist four legged rattan & wicker stool. In the style of Louis Sognot. Fair vintage condition. This stool will ship from France and can be returned to either France or to an up...
Wicker, Rattan
Interlock Stool By André Fu Living
By André Fu
Located in Admiralty, HK
a stool designed as a nod to traditional interlocking timber furniture. crafted in solid ash, the solid ash stool is adorned with intricate detailing and highly poetic profiles.
Ash
Set of Four Stools by Andre Sornay
By Andre Sornay
Located in New York, NY
Andre Sornay (1902-2000) Set of four modernist mahogany three legged stools. France, 1930's
Mahogany
Andre Sornay Stool
By Andre Sornay
Located in New York, NY
ANDRE SORNAY (1902-2000) Stool in tubular metal with wood pull handle France, 1930's 17 W x 23 D x 19 H Reupholstered.
Wood