A significant forgery scandal has unfolded in France, where a furniture expert and a woodcarver were found guilty of creating fake 18th-century chairs. These chairs were sold to high-profile collectors, including the Palace of Versailles, which acquired six counterfeit chairs for over €1.5 million. The case, which damaged France's heritage reputation, revealed the extent of the deception initiated as a bet. Bill Pallot received a suspended sentence, reflecting the serious implications of the fraud on art and heritage trust.
Pallot explained that the initial premise of their scheme was a bet to see if they could produce convincing fakes that the art market would not notice.
The fraud was discovered after an extensive police investigation, leading to an audit of Versailles’s acquisitions policy by the French ministry of culture.
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