An antiques expert and cabinet maker were recently found guilty for forging and selling nine imitations of historic 18th century armchairs they claimed belonged to members of French royalty like Marie Antoinette.
The judgement for the case applied to nine chairs and armchairs that were purportedly commissioned by relatives of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Antiques expert Georges “Bill” Pallot and cabinet maker Bruno Desnoues then sold the items through galleries in Paris and Sotheby’s to the Château of Versailles and to private collectors including Prince Al Thani and an heir to the Hermès family, according to the Art Newspaper.
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The court also underlined flaws in the procedures of the National Museum of Versailles, which employs leading scholars of royal furniture.
Pallot is one of the most prominent 18th-century furniture experts in Paris and a global authority on royal chairs; while Desnoues used his skills from his employment as a furniture restorer for Versailles to create the forgeries. Pallot also ran the furniture division at the Didier Aaron Gallery, which was not prosecuted in the nine-year investigation.
Pallot and Desnoues confessed to the crimes when they were arrested in 2016.
On June 11, Pallot was sentenced to four years in prison, including a 44-month suspended sentence; fined €200,000 and banned from working as an expert for five years. Desnoues was sentenced to three years in prison, including a 32-month suspended sentence, and a €100,000 fine.
Both Pallot and Desnoues have already served four months in pre-trial detention and the suspended sentences mean they will not return to prison.
Pallot and Desnoues will also have to pay a type of security, called an indemnity, of €1.6 million to their victims, reports The Art Newspaper.
Laurent Kraemer and his prestigious namesake gallery were also accused of deception by gross negligence after selling two fake Marie-Antoinette chairs to the Qatari Prince Hamad Al Thani for €2 million. While the prosecutor had sought of fine of €700,000 for the gallery, Kraemer and his gallery were acquitted.
The court concluded that Kraemer was also a victim of Pallot and Desnoues, after the gallerist said he was convinced the items were genuine and had refunded the member of the Qatari royal family.
However, Kraemer has still been charged in another case “for a series of allegedly fake Boulle pieces and other Louis XIV furniture,” reported The Art Newspaper.