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he recognized in them the handiwork of Pallot’s gilder and carver. “I often use the same people on restorations, and I’m intimate with their strengths and weak
by basicplus2 8y ago
he recognized in them the handiwork of Pallot’s gilder and carver.
“I often use the same people on restorations, and I’m intimate with their strengths and weaknesses,”
Hooreman says. He knew that one of them, for example, was fond of painting a coat of melted-down licorice on the surface of reproductions, to make new wood look old and dirty.
In 2012, Hooreman saw a pair of ployants—folding benches—that were for sale in the Aaron gallery showroom and were billed as the onetime property of Princess Louise Élisabeth, the eldest daughter of King Louis XV, and acted on a hunch.
“I licked the chair and voilà,” he says. “I could taste the fraud.”
- imron 8y ago> “I licked the chair and voilà,” he says. “I could taste the fraud.” That's dedication. I don't even want to imagine the years of dirt and cruft he'd be licking if the chair was authentic.
- setr 8y agoI would imagine it was still cleaned up before putting up for sale, even if there weren't any repairs done
- imron 8y agoSure but the reason the licorice was used was to simulate accumulated dirt and grime, so he's either licking licorice or he's licking centuries of dirt and grime. Lucky for him it was licorice!
- legohead 8y agoI don't understand. Are you simply quoting the article?