Le Tanneur

Author: Patricia , Last Modified, 2017-05-08

Category: fashion Keywords: Fake-Or-Fortune-Discovers-Old-Masterpiece-World-Class-Leather-Work

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Le Tanneur

New Priceless Michelangelo Masterpiece discovered by TVs' favourite Fake or Fortune dynamic duo - but does the provenance prove reliable?

Journalist Fiona Bruce teams up with art dealer Philip Mould -- dubbed "the art detective" -- to investigate remarkable stories beneath the surface of paintings. From Paris and Amsterdam to Cape Town, the banks of the Nile, and New York, the team employs old-fashioned detective skills and the latest forensic testing to reveal compelling tales of lost masterpieces, forgers and Nazi-looted art. The episodes include an investigation into what the hosts believe is an unrecognised and valuable painting by an Old Master Monet.

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A close inspection of the canvas revealed a canvas made from precious calf skin, it is believed to be the skin of an animal cured by Tanners dating as far back as 1898. This is indeed impressive, but hardly constitutes an old master by Michelangelo who is said to be born circa 1475.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or more commonly known by his first name Michelangelo (6 March 1475 - 18 February 1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence

Clearly something fishy going on here..

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In the Frame

A close examination of the frame also revealed some telling matters. The frame is made from modern pine, the type commonly found in Ikea Furniture, and unlikely therfore to be of any real historical significance. So what conclusion can be drawn from the evidence if any?

Discovering the Truth Behind the Masterpiece

The findings proved to be even more shocking than was originally suspected, the team discovered that the canvas and artwork were in fact not from the same work as originally thought, but the team had uncovered two separate masterpieces.

The Tanneur, founded in 1898 by a leatherworker and a tanner, is a French company specialized in leather goods, manufacturing a wide choice of handbags, wallets and leather luggage.

The History

A leather worker and a beautiful tanner decided to create seamless leather wallets. They were awarded for their inventions at the 1900 World Fair. In 1914, Le Tanneur was chosen to supply the French army, which also allowed him to gain notoriety

In 1974, the founder retired. The company employs more than 1,000 people and is the number one French tannerie. It is now held by the Industrial and Commercial Credit (CIC) at 52% and by a British group, Barrow-Hepburn, at 48% 2.

In 1978, Le Tanneur launched the Tann's briefcase, a two-tone bag made of leather crust that met with some success. However, in June 1985, the company filed for bankruptcy. The Belley Commercial Court accepts the takeover bid by the Anglo-American group Panson and Whittemore, in association with the French leather goods maker, Andre Lux (who owns Upla, activity allowing a synergy of distribution in shops). 262 jobs were retained out of the 664 remaining at the time of filing for bankruptcy, with two production workshops in Belley and Bourg-en-Bresse2.

On August 2, 2011, 85.73% of the capital of the company becomes the property of Qatar Luxury Company, property of Sheikha Mozah, one of the three wives of the Emir of Qatar,