Paris: Antiques Dealer Denies Being 'Most Brilliant Counterfeiter' Ever

A French antique dealer is due to go on trial in Paris after being accused of making at least 12.5 million euros, around $13.9 million, by selling forged 17th- and 18th-century furniture.

Jean Lupu, 93, who has reportedly been called "the most brilliant counterfeiter of all time," is alleged to have created replicas of expensive antique furniture and sold the pieces to high-end clients in Paris, New York, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to Le Parisien. An African head of state is also said to have purchased fakes worth 5 million euros, or around $5.6 million, from the dealer.

Lupu stands accused of committing commercial fraud and money laundering. The antique dealer denies the charges, saying he only repaired the furniture he bought before selling them.

The prosecution alleges that Lupu would buy lesser antiques at auctions before remodeling them and certifying them as genuine. It says that he and his team would also craft some items from scratch in a basement workshop below his luxurious showroom, according to The Art Newspaper.

The pieces, which included royal cabinets, desks, and dressers, were reworked to add decorative patterns, gilt bronze, lacquer, and china plaques, The Art Newspaper reported.

In one reported instance, Lupu sold a commode bearing the name of the celebrated French furniture maker and sculptor Charles Cressent for 2.8 million euros, or about $3.1 million, to the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, per the Art Newspaper. The commode was later described as an imitation and only fetched 200,000 euros, around $224,000, when it was resold by the seized property agency, per the outlet.

Lupu and his wife, Monique, were both unable to attend the opening of the trial due to ill health, according to the report. Lupu's lawyer, Antoine Vey, said the former antique dealer's health had "suddenly declined," while his wife was too "stressed" to attend.

The hearing has been delayed until February 2024, per The Art Newspaper.

The event is yet another blow to the Paris antique market, which had already suffered a major scandal in 2016 when Laurent Kraemer of the renowned Kraemer Gallery was arrested along with Bill Pallot on suspicion of selling fake Louis XV chairs to the Palace of Versailles, according to Artnet News.

At least two of the supposedly antique chairs were sold for $1.9 million, per the report.

The incident proved critical in the demise of the Biennale des Antiquaires, one of the world's most prestigious art fairs. The event struggled to recover from the scandal, with the COVID-19 pandemic seeming to be the final nail in the coffin.

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