The legal marathon will continue at trial. After eight years of investigation, justice sent art expert Bill Pallot, world authority on 18th century French furniture, to trial for the manufacture of fake period furniture acquired by the Palace of Versailles between 2008 and 2015.
According to an order from the investigating judge, six individuals and a prestigious Parisian antique dealer gallery will appear before the Pontoise criminal court for this case which shook the cozy microcosm of antique dealers and historical monuments.
At the center of the affair, “Père La Chaise” namely Bill Pallot, a 59-year-old dandy with long hair and elegant three-piece suits, notably fired for deception. Until now an undisputed French specialist in 18th century royal furniture, he wrote the world reference work on the subject. At his side, Bruno Desnoues, a cabinetmaker and best worker in France from Faubourg Saint-Antoine, a historic woodworking district in Paris.
An “exhilarating” deception and a successful plan
From 2007-2008, the duo produced and sold a handful of fake seats presented as extremely rare period furniture which would have adorned the living room 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.
Acquired by established galleries, the fake antiques are then resold by them to prestigious clients. At the forefront of the final recipients is the Palace of Versailles, which acquired fake chairs stamped Louis Delanois, a Georges Jacob chair and a Jean-Baptiste Sené shepherdess, 18th century cabinetmakers with works among the more expensive and sought after.
The fall of the two friends will come from an unexpected place. In 2014, the Tracfin anti-money laundering unit detected financial and real estate transactions in Val-d’Oise by a Portuguese couple, a driver and a hairdresser, which seemed out of proportion to their declared income.
By tracing the thread, the investigators discovered that the husband was linked to the cabinetmaker from Faubourg Saint-Antoine and ended up uncovering this incredible trafficking in 18th century furniture, particularly embarrassing for the prestige of the Palace of Versailles.