Scam with chairs of Mary Antoaneta who are not
On Tuesday, the trial against the antique began in France Bill Pallot and the carver Bruno right Due to the manufacture and sale of chairs, which are supposed to originate from the 18th century. The final disclosure of their actions dates back to 2016, among the buyers of the chairs, which are supposed to be adorned with the rooms of the mistress of King Louis XV. and the queens of Maria Antoaneta, but also Versailles Palace and the Qatar Prince.
France even named two of these « acquisitions » as a national treasure, and as soon as it was revealed that it was fakes, the French Ministry of Culture in Versailles triggered an audit. The scam has caused more than four million euros in damage, and at the right of the home, they found $ 200,000 in cash during a house search. He once said that he was interested in the work, not money, while his wife described the environment in which he worked, as disgusting because they wanted to earn antique sellers at all costs.
In 1987, Bill Pallot published a book on the art of French chairs from the 18th century, to which his friend, fashion creator Karl Lagerfeld, wrote the preface. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Karl Lagerfeld
Chairs licked
However, he obviously loves his right -to -right work so much and manages him so much that he coated the furniture he made in tandem with Bill Pallot with a melted sweet root to make it look old. It was revealed by Pallot’s former student on sorbon Charles Horemanwho is now dealing with antiques himself.
He tested his suspicion by trying some of these products in 2012, more precisely the bench, which was supposed to belong to the eldest daughter of Louis XV He shared his doubts about him and Pallot with both customers and French authorities.
In Versailles, where it was initially ignored, he sent an email addressed when obtaining chairs worth more than € 2.5 million A dangerous acquisition and thus eventually attracted their attention. As he said for years ago for Vanity Fair, He was suspected of talking to a buyer and the amount of furniture pieces that appeared from everywhere in a short time.
In 2016, Police Pallot and several of his associates arrested. Pallot admitted that he had falsified at least four chairs sold by Versailles Palace; He even said somewhere that they were guessing with the right whether they would even manage to make good fakes.
Police also investigated other possible fakes across the museums and collections around the world, and Hooreman continued his work and documented them, which served as a plan for further investigations. The scam was strongly undermined by the confidence in the antique market, customers, museums and galleries introduced preventive measures.
Pallot has already served in prison for four months, but then returned to work, and is now threatening him with several years in prison. The trial of him and five other people will continue next month.
