BBC
In the early 2010s, two ornate chairs were said to have once belonged to the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.
It was engraved with the seal of Nicholas Kinnibert Folio, a well-known carpenter who worked in Paris in the 1700s, as it was considered to be the most expensive chair made for Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen.
An important discovery, the pair was declared “a national treasure” by the French government in 2013 at the request of Versailles.
The palace, which displays such items in the vast museum collection, showed interest in purchasing chairs, but prices were deemed too important.
Instead, they were sold for an eye-catching euro 2 million (£1.67 million) by Prince Qatar Mohamed bin Hamad Al Thani.
The chairs constituted an incredible number of 18th century royal furniture that appeared on the antique market over the past few years.
Other items included another chair that was claimed to be sitting in one of Marie Antoinette’s rooms in Versailles. Another pair said to belong to Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XVI. The armchair of Princess Elisabeth, the younger sister of King Louis XVI. A pair of praisers, or stool, belonging to the daughter of King Louis XVI and Princess Louise Elisabeth.
Most of these were purchased by Versailles for display in the museum’s collection, and one chair was sold to the wealthy Geland Hermes family.
But in 2016, this royal assortment of chairs became stigmatized by a national scandal that shook the French antique world.
reason? In fact, the chairs were all fakes.
In the scandal, Georges “Bill” Parrott, one of the leading French antique experts, and award-winning cabinet maker Bruno Desnu, were brought to trial on charges of fraud and money laundering after nine years of investigation.
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Prints from court documents show two chairs that are said to belong to Madame du Barry, the mistress of King Louis XV, who sold for 840,000 euros in 2008.
Galerie Kraemer and his director, Laurent Kraemer, were accused of a gross negligence deception, which they sold in several of the chairs.
All three defendants are scheduled to appear in a courthouse in Pontoise near Paris on Wednesday following the trial in March. Pallot and Desnoues have admitted their crimes, and Kraemer and his gallery are challenging accusations of deception by gross negligence.
It started out as a “joke”
Parrott, considered the top scholar of French 18th century chairs and authoritative books on the subject, was often sought by Versailles to give expert opinions on whether historical items were true. He was even called as an expert witness in the French courts when there was doubt about the authenticity of the item.
His accomplice, Mr. Dessnows, was a decorated cabinet maker and sculptor who won many prestigious awards, including France’s best sculptors in 1984, and was employed as the leading restorator of Versailles furniture.
Speaking to court in March, Parrott said the scheme belonged to Mr. Dubury, beginning as a “joking” with Mr. Desnooze in 2007, looking to see if it could replicate the armchairs he’s already working on restoration.
Their craft masters managed the feat and convinced other experts that it was the chair of the era.
And, supported by their success, they began to make more.
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Bill Parrott took a photo at an art exhibition in Paris in April following his trial
Explaining how they built the chairs, the two explained in court how Mr. Parrott sourced wood frames at various auctions at low prices, and Mr. Denu aged the wood in his workshop to make others.
They were then sent for gold plating and upholstery before Deznu added the design and wood finish. He added stamps from some of the great furniture workers of the 18th century.
Once they were finished, Mr. Parrott sold them through an intermediary to galleries like Kraemer, and he himself worked at Diddy Aeron. They will then be sold to auction houses such as Sotheby’s in London and drouot in Paris.
“I was my head and Denu was my hands,” Parrot told the court with a smile.
“It turned out like a breeze,” he added. “It was all fake, but it was money.”
Prosecutors claim that the two men had estimated profits of more than 3 million euros from the forged chairs, but Pallot and Desnoues estimated profits to be low at 700,000 euros. Prosecutors said the proceeds were deposited in foreign bank accounts.
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Bruno Desnoues was filmed in 2000 after receiving the prestigious Lilianne Bettencourt Award for “Intelligence of the Hand.”
A lawyer representing Versailles said that Parrott, a lecturer at the Sorbonne, managed to deceive the facility due to “privileged access to the documents and archives of Versailles and the Louvre” as part of his academic research.
A statement from the team of lawyer Colin Hirschkovich said that thanks to Mr. Parrott’s “full knowledge” of the inventory of royal furniture recorded as being present in Versailles in the 18th century, items missing from the collection can be determined and made with the help of Mr. Denu.
Desnoues also added that he has access to the original chairs he has made copies and “enables to produce fakes that have all the real visual appearances, up to stock counts and period labels.”
“The unfair connection between these two professionally skilled men, recognized by their peers, allowed them to deceive French institutions that viewed them as partners, thereby undermining the reputation of Versailles and its curators,” they said.
Prosecutor Pascal Layer said the trial highlighted the need for more robust regulations in the art market and also shed light on the standards that antique dealers should adhere to.
The court heard that authorities were warned of the plan when the gorgeous lifestyle of the Portuguese and his partner caught the attention of French authorities.
While he was questioned by police about the acquisition of property in France and Portugal in January, a man who worked as a handyman at a gallery in Paris confessed his role as an intermediary who worked as a collaborative intermediary in furniture fraud. The money trail then led investigators to Mr. Desnoy and Mr. Parrott.
A case of a celebrity gross negligence?
Some of the people originally indicted in the case, including intermediaries, were later charged against them.
However, accusations against both Laurent Kramer and Gallery Kramer, sold in several of the chairs forged by collectors such as Versailles and Prince Altani of Qatar, were upheld.
Prosecutors argue that the gallery itself may have been tricked into purchasing fake works first, but Kramer and the gallery were “severely negligent” because they were expensive and unable to fully check the credibility of the items before selling them to collectors.
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Laurent Clamer and his wife Nicole at a cocktail party in 2016
In his final discussion, prosecutor Mr. Layer, the prosecutor, said that based on Gallery Kramer’s reputation and contact information, they were able to bring Versailles or Louvre furniture to compare them.
“They may also have hired other experts considering the opacity of the origin of the chair given the amount they are at risk.”
Speaking to the court, Kraemer and the attorney representing the gallery allegedly argued that his client was “a victim of fraud and not an accomplice.”
In a statement to the BBC, lawyers Martin Raynaud and Mauricia Kruleger added:
“Like the experts who categorized Chateau des Versailles and furniture as national treasures, the Cremer Gallery was a victim of counterfeiters,” they added.
“We are waiting for the verdict to admit this.”
The BBC reached out to Mr. Parrott’s attorney for comment. The BBC was unable to reach Mr. Denu or his lawyer.
