Sir Elton John has won the court case of 11 years against a Parisian, Jean Renoncourt art dealer who was accused of selling him fake marble sculptures.
After eleven years of legal battle the court ultimately ruled that all the statues were fakes, and awarded the singer $360,000 (£180,350) to cover the cost of buying the statues, plus $38,000 (£19,000) in damages and 78,000 euros (£52,500) in legal costs.
Sir Elton, who was knighted in 1998, bought the four sculptures of Greek Gods when he visited the antiques’ shop in July 1996. He paid £180,000 in cash and got the artifacts shipped to his mansion in England. The statues were 120 centimeters tall and had signature of the 18th-century Italian sculptor Luigi Grossi.
After five years Sir John Elton called an art expert Simon Yates to assess their value for insurance purposes. Simon Yates analyzed the statues as of inferior marble and 20th-century copies.
In the beginning of the case a Paris court questioned the reliability of British expert opinion and did not accept Sir Elton’s claim for compensation. But then the court ordered for their French analysis which later confirmed British suspicions.
The singer-songwriter, Sir John Elton famous for Candle In The Wind turned 60 in March. He is due to play the Princess Diana Memorial Concert this weekend.
Source: BBC
