Latest news with #Drouot
Asharq Al-Awsat
24-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Napoleon's Sword Sold at Auction for 4.7 Mn Euros
A sword that belonged to Napoleon and was specially ordered for the personal use of the French emperor fetched almost 4.7 million euros at auction in Paris, many times the asking price and coming close to a new record price for a Napoleonic artefact, the auction house said. The piece, which Napoleon ordered in 1802 and kept throughout his reign, was sold for 4.66 million euros ($5.27 million) late Thursday, said the Drouot auctioneers, on whose premises the auction organized by the Giquello auction firm took place, AFP said. The sword had been estimated to reach 700,000 to one million euros when it came under the hammer in Paris. The final price nearly broke the auction record for a Napoleonic artefact, set in 2007 when a sword used by Napoleon at the 1800 Battle of Marengo sold for 4.8 million euros. "It joins the very select group of the most valuable Napoleonic artifacts ever sold at auction," the Drouot auction house said. Napoleon passed the sabre on to his close ally Emmanuel de Grouchy, who the French emperor named his last marshal of the empire. The sword has been in Grouchy's family since 1815, the year of Napoleon's last defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. A second copy, identical to this one and also commissioned by Napoleon, is kept at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Napoleon memorabilia regularly comes up for sale at auction in France in a flourishing trade marked by intense interest from collectors. Two pistols that he once intended to use to kill himself were sold in France last July for 1.7 million euros, while one of his trademark "bicorne" hats was acquired for 1.9 million euros in November 2023. A hand-written letter from Napoleon denying his role in the kidnapping of Pope Pius VII in 1809 was sold in April for 26,360 euros.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Napoleon's prized sword that he kept as he conquered Europe - but French Emperor gave blade worth staggering sum away before defeat at Waterloo
Napoleon's prized sword which he carried for a decade and gave away three months before his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo has emerged for sale for £850,000. The 'Turkish style' sabre was specially commissioned to mark his ascension to French Emperor in 1804 and took several months to make. The 32inch sabre is inscribed 'N Bonaparte' on one side and 'Premier Consul' on the other. It was made by the master gunsmith Nicolas-Noel Boutet from the Versailles arms factory. The Little General was so taken by the 'exceptional' craftsmanship that he kept hold of it until March 1815. Napoleon is alleged to have once said: 'There are only two powers in the world - the sword and the mind.' He presented the sword to his last Marshal of the Empire, Emmanuel de Grouchy, to reward him for retaking Lyon and capturing the Duke of Angouleme. After his devastating defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to live out his final years on the South Atlantic outpost of St Helena. The Grouchy family have treasured the sword for 210 years but are now selling it at Paris-based auctioneers Drouot. Alexandre Giquello, auctioneer at Giquello & Associes, who are handling the sale alongside Druout, said: 'This sabre stands apart for its exceptional provenance, outstanding craftsmanship, and rarity. 'It is one of the very few personal arms known to have belonged to Napoleon himself and to have remained in the same family for over two centuries. 'A second, identical sabre - also commissioned by the Emperor - is held today by the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. 'In terms of historical significance, state of preservation, and traceable lineage, this sabre surpasses most Napoleonic arms ever to appear at auction.' Napoleon's final years on St Helena were spent in declining health and he complained of 'inhumane' treatment at the hands of the island's governor, Sir Hudson Lowe. He died on St Helena in 1821. His passing was described in letters sent by his British overseers. They came to light last month when they came up for auction. The letters were found in a trunk of military mementos for the Wynyard family which was stashed away in the garage of a property in the east of England. Colonel Edward Buckley Wynyard was the former military secretary to Sir Hudson Lowe. One letter penned by Major Gideon Gorrequer to Wynyard on the day after Napoleon's death reads: 'Bonaparte expired yesterday evening at 10 minutes before six. 'Just at the very instant the sun sunk below the horizon he breathed his last sigh - he had been confined to his bed since the 17th March. '...He threw up everything almost that went down his throat would scarcely take any medication - or would not, or could not, take any nourishing. 'He has been sinking ever since the first day he took to his bed.' Maj Gorrequer added: 'He has died in a manly proper manner no complaint, no invective, no lamentation or nonsense. 'Extreme unction was given to him before his death, and from 6 in the morning yesterday to 6 at night, the whole of his attendants, from the highest to the lowest surrounded his bed in deep silence (Madame Bertrand and the rest of the females) till the moment of his dissolution. 'His last day was one of graceful exclination- but I should think of little pain, if you can judge of his appearance as a corpse- near did I behold one to divested of all that is painful or horrifying to behold in death. 'There was a serenity, a placidity, a peaceful slumbering affect in his countenance (when all the authorities staff naval and military went to see the corpse this morning at six) that had a strong effect on everyone who saw him.
Telegraph
25-03-2025
- Telegraph
The ‘Marie Antoinette' chairs that fooled France's finest auctioneers in €4.5m scam
A flamboyant French art expert and 'master forger' fooled the Palace at Versailles into buying fake 'Marie Antoinette' chairs, a court heard on Tuesday. Bill Pallot, an expert on 18th-century French furniture, is accused of running a counterfeit operation between 2008 and 2015 as part of a €4.5 million scam that one leading gallery owner dubbed 'catastrophic' for the prestige of Gallic art dealing. With his distinctive long hair, round glasses and three-piece suits, the 61-year-old was a familiar figure in France due to his regular publications and media appearances. The kingpin of pre-Revolutionary furniture was nicknamed 'Père la chaise' – a play on Paris's Père-Lachaise cemetery and the phrase 'father of the chair'. On Tuesday, a court in Pontoise outside Paris accused him and his fellow defendant Bruno Desnoues, a prominent woodcarver, of producing and selling chairs from 2007 to 2008 that they claimed were historic pieces that had adorned the salons of the likes of Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV, and Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI's wife and the last queen of France. In fact, the pair have admitted they were all 'perfect' fakes, made from the frames of old chairs that were upholstered with gold and other intricate ornamentation of the time. Few questions were asked as Mr Pallot was a leading authority, having written 'the bible' on such royal furniture called The art of chairs in the 18th century. His accomplice's credentials were equally impeccable, as he had earned the label 'best craftsman in France'. So fine were the fakes that they were given the official stamp of authenticity by the Palace at Versailles, built for 'Sun King' Louis XVI, but also a string of top auction houses, including Sotheby's and Drouot. Some were even classified 'national treasures'. The scandal was a huge embarrassment for Versailles when it erupted in 2016. An ensuing government audit of its acquisitions policy found serious 'failings' in Versailles's system of checks into authenticity and provenance, which has since been given a radical overhaul. So accomplished were the fraudsters that they were not caught due to stylistic mistakes – in the end, it was money that gave the game away. In 2014, tax inspectors were curious as to how a Portuguese couple living in a modest bungalow in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles – who worked as a chauffeur for an antiques dealer and hairdresser – had managed to buy up property worth €1.2 million and were looking to buy a second house in the area for cash. They swiftly ascertained that the money was laundered and linked the funds to a Swiss account belonging to Mr Desnoue, who explained that he had opened it at Mr Pallot's request to receive commissions. The two men quickly admitted that they had forged the chairs from scratch. The first pair they made were said to have come from Madame du Barry's drawing room. They were sold to Versailles by the Kraemer gallery for €840,000. Two chairs supposedly belonging to Marie Antoinette for the Belvedere pavilion were also complete forgeries. They had been bought for €200,000 by the Kraemer gallery, which sold them for €2 million to a Qatari prince. When doubts later arose about their authenticity, the gallery took them back. In the meantime, however, they had been classified as national treasures. Sotheby's sold another 18th-century chair made by the pair to Versailles, also a fake; the supposed 'bergère' chair belonging to Madame Elisabeth, Louis XVI's sister, sold for €250,000. Money appears to be the main motive. The woodcarver, who described himself as 'first and foremost an artist', said he had been driven to forgery due to financial difficulties. Mr Pallot said the pair made the first lot of two identical fake chairs as a 'funny bet' to 'see if we could pull it off'. 'They went through without a hitch,' he said. 'The four following lots were for money,' he told Le Parisien. The affair sent shock waves through the world of antiques dealers and galleries, particularly as the prestigious Kraemer gallery in Paris and Laurent Kraemer, its managing director, are among the defendants. Kraemer, which is accused of 'failing to conduct sufficient checks', denies any wrongdoing and contends it too is a victim of the master forgers. 'These chairs were declared national treasures. They were put on the market and validated by the best specialists of the time,' said Martin Reynaud and Mauricia Courrégé, the gallery's lawyers, before the court hearing. 'The entire art market chain was taken in by the counterfeiters.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
The ‘Marie Antoinette' chairs that fooled France's finest auctioneers in €4.5m scam
A flamboyant French art expert and 'master forger' fooled the Palace at Versailles into buying fake 'Marie Antoinette' chairs, a court heard on Tuesday. Bill Pallot, an expert on 18th-century French furniture, is accused of running a counterfeit operation between 2008 and 2015 as part of a €4.5 million scam that one leading gallery owner dubbed 'catastrophic' for the prestige of Gallic art dealing. With his distinctive long hair, round glasses and three-piece suits, the 61-year-old was a familiar figure in France due to his regular publications and media appearances. The kingpin of pre-Revolutionary furniture was nicknamed 'Père la chaise' – a play on Paris's Père-Lachaise cemetery and the phrase 'father of the chair'. On Tuesday, a court in Pontoise outside Paris accused him and his fellow defendant Bruno Desnoues, a prominent woodcarver, of producing and selling chairs from 2007 to 2008 that they claimed were historic pieces that had adorned the salons of the likes of Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV, and Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI's wife and the last queen of France. In fact, the pair have admitted they were all 'perfect' fakes, made from the frames of old chairs that were upholstered with gold and other intricate ornamentation of the time. Few questions were asked as Mr Pallot was a leading authority, having written 'the bible' on such royal furniture called The art of chairs in the 18th century. His accomplice's credentials were equally impeccable, as he had earned the label 'best craftsman in France'. So fine were the fakes that they were given the official stamp of authenticity by the Palace at Versailles, built for 'Sun King' Louis XVI, but also a string of top auction houses, including Sotheby's and Drouot. Some were even classified 'national treasures'. The scandal was a huge embarrassment for Versailles when it erupted in 2016. An ensuing government audit of its acquisitions policy found serious 'failings' in Versailles's system of checks into authenticity and provenance, which has since been given a radical overhaul. So accomplished were the fraudsters that they were not caught due to stylistic mistakes – in the end, it was money that gave the game away. In 2014, tax inspectors were curious as to how a Portuguese couple living in a modest bungalow in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles – who worked as a chauffeur for an antiques dealer and hairdresser – had managed to buy up property worth €1.2 million and were looking to buy a second house in the area for cash. They swiftly ascertained that the money was laundered and linked the funds to a Swiss account belonging to Mr Desnoue, who explained that he had opened it at Mr Pallot's request to receive commissions. The two men quickly admitted that they had forged the chairs from scratch. The first pair they made were said to have come from Madame du Barry's drawing room. They were sold to Versailles by the Kraemer gallery for €840,000. Two chairs supposedly belonging to Marie Antoinette for the Belvedere pavilion were also complete forgeries. They had been bought for €200,000 by the Kraemer gallery, which sold them for €2 million to a Qatari prince. When doubts later arose about their authenticity, the gallery took them back. In the meantime, however, they had been classified as national treasures. Sotheby's sold another 18th-century chair made by the pair to Versailles, also a fake; the supposed 'bergère' chair belonging to Madame Elisabeth, Louis XVI's sister, sold for €250,000. Money appears to be the main motive. The woodcarver, who described himself as 'first and foremost an artist', said he had been driven to forgery due to financial difficulties. Mr Pallot said the pair made the first lot of two identical fake chairs as a 'funny bet' to 'see if we could pull it off'. 'They went through without a hitch,' he said. 'The four following lots were for money,' he told Le Parisien. The affair sent shock waves through the world of antiques dealers and galleries, particularly as the prestigious Kraemer gallery in Paris and Laurent Kraemer, its managing director, are among the defendants. Kraemer, which is accused of 'failing to conduct sufficient checks', denies any wrongdoing and contends it too is a victim of the master forgers. 'These chairs were declared national treasures. They were put on the market and validated by the best specialists of the time,' said Martin Reynaud and Mauricia Courrégé, the gallery's lawyers, before the court hearing. 'The entire art market chain was taken in by the counterfeiters.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
