In the early 2010s, two gorgeous chairs were once in the land of the Versailles Palace and appeared in the French antique market.
It was thought to be the most expensive chair made for Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, and the seals of famous (famous) or carpenter Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot in Paris in the 1700s were stamped.
Big discovery was declared as “national treasure” by the French government in 2013 at the request of Versailles.
The palace, which displays such items in the vast museum collection, expressed interest in the purchase of chairs, but the price was considered too precious.
Instead, they were sold to the Qatar Prince Mohammed bin hamad al Thani for € 2M (£ 1.67m).
The chair has organized the 18th -century royal furniture in the antique market for the past few years.
Another item is a set of another chair sitting in one of the rooms of Marie Antoinette of Versailles; A separate pair belonging to Madame Du Barry, the hostess of Louis XVI; Princess Elisas, the sister of King Louis XVI; And a pair of Rich – or chair -Louis Kilisas Princess Louis XVI was belonging to the daughter.
Most of them were purchased by Versailles to exhibit in the museum collection, and one chair was sold to a rich Geran-Humus family.
But in 2016, the chair of this assortment will be caught up in a national scandal that will shake the French antique world and refute trade.
reason? The chair was actually all fake.
The scandal has seen George “Bill” Palot and award -winning cabinet producer Bruno Desnoues, one of France’s major antique experts, is being tried for fraud and money laundering after nine years of investigation.
Galerie Kraemer and his director, Laurent Kraemer, were also accused of deception due to severe negligence on selling in some chairs.
All three defendants will appear in the court of Pontoise near Paris on Wednesday after the trial in March. Pallot and Desnoues acknowledged the crime, and Kraemer and his galleries filed a deception of the deception due to severe negligence.
It started with a joke.
He wrote a prestigious book about this topic, which is considered the chief scholar of the 18th century of France, and PALL often called for an expert’s opinion on whether Versailles is a real deal. He was called an expert witness in the French court when he was questioning the authenticity of the item.
His accomplice Desnoues was a decorated cabinet producer and sculptor who won numerous prestigious awards, including the best sculptor of France in 1984, and was hired as a major restorer of major furniture in Versailles.
Pallot spoke in the court in March and started with a “joke” with Desnoues in 2007 and confirmed that he could duplicate the armchairs who are already working on restoration work in Madame Du Barry.
They were the owners of crafts, managing the feat and persuading other experts to be the chairman of that era.
And because of their success, they began to make more.
Explaining how to build a chair, the two explained how to supply wood frames at a variety of auctions at a low price in court, and Desnou was old to make others in his workshop.
They were sent for gold and ornaments before Desnoues added design and wood finish. He added stamps from the 18th -century great furniture workers, bringing or bringing it from the actual furniture of this period.
When they were completed, Pallot sold his arms with a gallery like Kraemer and a gallery like Didier Aaron through an intermediary. Then it will be sold to the auction house such as Sotheby’s’ S of London and Douot of Paris.
Followed laughed at the court.
“It went like the wind,” he added. “Everything was fake, but money was money.”
The prosecution argued that the two had more than 3 million euros in counterfeit chairs. The prosecution said that income was deposited in a foreign bank account.
Attorneys representing Versailles said, “As a part of academic research, he said,“ As a part of academic research, he can deceive the institution because of his privilege approach to the document and archive of the Vers and the Louvre.
According to a statement by the lawyer Corinne Hershkovitch team, Mr. Palot’s “thorough knowledge” of the royal furniture in the 18th -century Ber said that he could decide the missing items in the collection and make them with the help of Desnoues.
Mr. Desnoues was also able to access the original chair that made a copy, and “made it possible to produce fake fakes with all the authentic visuals of inventory numbers and period labels.”
“The fraud of men, recognized by colleagues, has been deceived as a partner and betraying trust and betraying trust, which can damage the reputation of Bersators and curators.”
The Pascal Rayer prosecutor emphasized the need for stronger regulations on the art market and shed light on the standard antiques that the dealer should comply with.
The court was told that the authorities were warned by the institution when the luxurious lifestyle of the Portuguese and his partner attracted the French authorities.
A person who questioned the police for the acquisition of real estate in France and Portugal with an income of about 2,500 euros a month confessed his role by working as a broker who worked as a handyman in the Paris Gallery. Money Trail led the investigators to Death Noz and Followers.
In the case of deception due to severe negligence?
Some of the people who originally accused in this case, including brokers, were later accused of them.
But allegations of Laurent Kraemer and Galerie Kraemer, which were sold to some counterfeit chairs to collectors such as Ber and Qatar Prince Al-Thani, were supported.
The prosecution insisted that the gallery itself was tricked to buy fake sculptures first, but Kraemer and Gallery insisted that they were “severe negligence” for not fully checking the authenticity of the item before selling to collectors at high prices.
Layer said in his closed debate that he could compare them by bringing furniture to Versailles or Louvre based on Galle Ricramer’s “fame and contact.”
“They were also able to hire other experts, considering the amount of dangerous money and considering the opacity of the origin of the chair.”
In court, lawyers and galleries representing Kramemer argued that his client was “a victim of fraud, not an accomplice.”
In a statement on the BBC, lawyers Martin Reynaud and Mauricia Courrégé added:
“Château de Versailles and furniture, like experts who classified furniture as a national treasure, were Kraemer Gallery a victim of counterfeit.”
“We are waiting for judgment to recognize this.”
The BBC contacted Pallot’s lawyer and presented opinions. The BBC could not contact Desnoues or his lawyer.
