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An early 20th-century bench was among the items Mark LaFleur came across in Paris earlier this year at a professional dealers' warehouse.Handout

Mark LaFleur, owner of the Antique Warehouse in Vancouver, recently discovered that a buying trip in Paris netted him some furniture that is also fashion history. Thanks to a bit of online research, LaFleur discovered that about 20 pieces he bought earlier this year likely belonged to Coco Chanel, the famed French fashion designer and businesswoman. The furniture will soon be for sale to collectors in Canada and around the world. LaFleur spoke to The Globe and Mail about how he came into possession of the pieces, attempts to authenticate them and what their provenance means for the buying public.

This sounds like an incredible story.

It really is! It’s almost like Howard Carter discovering King Tutankhamun’s tomb, without the immediate excitement, because I didn’t really realize after I bought all these things that [they] in fact had such an illustrious provenance until they actually arrived into the store and I did some research.

When and where did you buy these things?

It was back in March. I bought them in Paris. It’s a professional dealers’ – I guess you’d call it a warehouse. I was poking around this cavernous area that was down in the lowest floor and I came across these things. What intrigued me about them was their age. I could see there was a lot of 16th- and 17th-century pieces that you normally don’t find in Paris. I asked [the dealer] what he wanted for them. It was relatively low cost. And he said, “Oh, by the way, these are part of Chanel’s collection.” I really didn’t pay much attention because most of the French dealers like to inflate everything they have.

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An 18th-century cabinet.

How many pieces in all did you buy?

I’d say there was a good 20 pieces. There was a 16th-century bed. There was a money changer’s table that was from 1520. I bought them because of their significant age. These two blue commodes I just fell in love with right away. There was a beautiful little bench that was limed. What was funny is he had little tags on everything that said, “Pink bedroom, Chanel.” “Entrance foyer, grand salon.” That sort of thing. I didn’t pay much attention to any of that. I just wanted the things because they’re interesting.

When did you realize the furniture had actually once belonged to Coco Chanel?

The night everything arrived I went home and starting researching her residences. I found that she and the Duke of Westminster had built a villa in the south of France in 1934. It was on several real estate sites, and of course they had shots of the interior of everything. And all of a sudden the things I have are showing up in these shots. I started literally losing it. I was so excited about this find.

How do antique dealers authenticate this kind of stuff?

Well, that’s the problem. The only way we could authenticate it is through the photographs. The photographs are clear evidence that these pieces were in her villa at the time. I don’t have Chanel here to verify that this is all hers. But certainly in the photographs that you see online you can see these pieces of furniture quite clearly.

And what does that provenance mean for the collector’s market? The story behind the furniture must make it more appealing to many potential buyers.

It certainly does. I said to my manager, “I don’t know what to price these things at.” Because they’re almost priceless, really. The provenance is extraordinary. Winston Churchill was a great guest at the villa. He spent months on end there. In his bedroom, you can actually see the two bombé commodes I have flanking the bed.

Did you ever find out from the warehouse in Paris how it came across this stuff?

He said there were two auctions. The first was done at a high-end auction in Paris. And then apparently there was a second auction of things the people didn’t think were all that significant. It’s just timing. I happened to be at the right place at the right time.

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This pair of commodes used to be in the bedroom of Winston Churchill whenever he stayed at the villa.

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