Fake antiquities acquired by the Palace of Versailles: a trial ordered for deception

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP 19:10 p.m., November 15, 2023

After eight years of investigation, the judiciary has sent art expert Bill Pallot, a world leader in 2008th-century French furniture, to trial for the manufacture of fake period furniture acquired by the Palace of Versailles between 2015 and <>, one of the biggest forgery scandals in recent years. According to an order from the investigating judge dated Monday, seen by AFP on Wednesday, six individuals and a prestigious Parisian antique gallery will appear before the Pontoise criminal court for this case that has shaken the hushed microcosm of antique dealers and historical monuments.

The "bet" of two men

At the origin of this dossier is the "bet" of two men intoxicated by their ability to dupe the greatest specialists and buyers of French art of the eighteenth century. At the center of the case is "Père La Chaise" Bill Pallot, a 59-year-old dandy with long hair and elegant three-piece suits, notably fired for deception. Until then, he was an undisputed French specialist in eighteenth-century royal furniture, and he wrote the world's leading reference work on the subject. At his side, Bruno Desnoues, a cabinetmaker and Meilleur Ouvrier de France from Faubourg Saint-Antoine, a historic woodworking district in Paris.

From 2007-2008, the duo produced and sold a handful of fake chairs presented as extremely rare period furniture that would have adorned the salon of Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, or the cabinet of Queen Marie-Antoinette. An "exhilarating" deception, by their own admission, which will earn them hundreds of thousands of euros.

>> ALSO READ – INFO EUROPE 1 - False bomb threats at the Palace of Versailles: a German association in the crosshairs of investigators

Acquired by established galleries, the fake antiques are then resold by them to prestigious clients, such as a Qatari prince, at huge margins. "There are some who have gorged themselves well in the process," the cabinetmaker commented during questioning when he learned of the prices charged. In the foreground of the final recipients is the Palace of Versailles, which has acquired fake chairs stamped Louis Delanois, a Georges Jacob chair and a Jean-Baptiste Sené shepherdess - cabinetmakers of the eighteenth century with some of the most expensive and sought-after works. For years, despite a few warnings, the subterfuge generally passed "like a letter in the post", Bill Pallot congratulated himself before the investigating judge.

Questionable financial and real estate transactions

Their downfall will come from an unexpected place. In 2014, the anti-money laundering unit Tracfin detected financial and real estate transactions in the Val-d'Oise of a Portuguese couple, a driver and a hairdresser, which seemed out of all proportion to their declared income. As they follow the thread, the investigators discover that the husband is in contact with the cabinetmaker of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine and end up uncovering this incredible trafficking in eighteenth-century furniture, which was particularly embarrassing for the prestige of the Palace of Versailles.

Contacted by AFP, the National Estate - a civil party in the case alongside the Sotheby's auction house - and Bill Pallot's defence did not wish to comment. After eight years of proceedings, the investigating judge dismissed the case against a well-known art expert who acted as an intermediary between Pallot and the galleries, as well as a gilder who worked on the fake chairs. He considered that they had been duped by the reputation of the expert.

"Malfunctions" at Versailles

On the other hand, he sent the Kraemer antique gallery, one of the most luxurious in Paris and frequented by many billionaires, and one of the brothers who runs it, Laurent Kraemer, to court. While the judge dropped the initial charge of fraud as part of an organized gang and acknowledged that the Kraemers were not "in collusion" with the forgers, they were accused of "not having carried out sufficiently thorough checks" on the incriminated furniture.

>> ALSO READ – Climate: the Palace of Versailles is a victim of global warming

"The Kraemer Gallery has been deceived and with it all the greatest French experts in eighteenth-century furniture (...) We are impatiently awaiting the hearing to demonstrate that the Kraemers have no other place in this case than that of victims," their lawyers Mauricia Courrégé and Martin Reynaud told AFP, denouncing "charges (that) have only melted away like snow in the sun". The investigation also finally ruled out some of the furniture initially targeted by the investigation, such as a second pair of "du Barry" chairs bought by Versailles and a Turkish-style night light.

Faced with the scandal caused by the revelation of this affair in 2016, the Ministry of Culture ordered an inspection of the acquisition procedures of the Palace of Versailles. In a report issued the following year and submitted to the investigation, the administration denounced "dysfunctions" and a "lack of vigilance" on the part of the public establishment and called on it to "review as soon as possible and in depth" its procedures.