The furniture fraud that hoodwinked the Palace of Versailles
Summary
In the early 2010s, two chairs falsely believed to have belonged to Marie Antoinette appeared on the French antiques market, later selling for €2 million to a Qatari prince. An investigation revealed these, along with several other Royal-themed chairs, to be fakes, leading to a high-profile court case against well-known antiques expert Bill Pallot and cabinetmaker Bruno Desnoues.Key Facts
- Two chairs believed to have been owned by Marie Antoinette were sold on the antiques market.
- These chairs were declared "national treasures" by the French government in 2013.
- A Qatari prince purchased the chairs for €2 million.
- Other similar royal-themed chairs appeared on the market and also turned out to be fakes.
- Georges "Bill" Pallot and Bruno Desnoues were charged with fraud and money laundering.
- Pallot admitted in court that the scheme began as a "joke" in 2007.
- Laurent Kraemer and his gallery faced charges of deception for selling some of the fake chairs.
- The accused appeared in court in Pontoise, near Paris, following a trial.
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