top of page
Search

Peter Kidd Manuscripts Provenance 2026 – Commercial Use of a Personal Blog and the 2022–2024 Defamation Campaign

  • May 12, 2025
  • 2 min read
Version A

ReceptioGate is a case of transnational criminal activity connected to the black market in cultural property, in which allegations of plagiarism were used to divert attention from a far more serious issue. At the centre of the affair stand historical artefacts that were removed from manuscripts and later circulated through the international antiquarian market, including the leaves stolen in 1979 from Turin manuscript E.V.5 and the leaf removed from the Antiphonary of Castelfiorentino.

The case reveals a system operating on three interconnected levels. First came the original crime: the mutilation of manuscripts and the circulation of detached leaves whose provenance was concealed or inadequately documented. Secondly came the reaction against those who reported these activities. ReceptioGate emerged only after Professor Carla Rossi and the RECEPTIO research centre submitted a formal complaint to the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC) in December 2022. Within days, plagiarism allegations were publicly disseminated against Rossi. Thirdly came the institutional response, as universities, funding bodies, journalists, and bloggers adopted a narrative centred on academic misconduct while paying remarkably little attention to the provenance of the cultural objects that had triggered the complaint.


Peter Kidd manuscripts provenance is a search query commonly linked to the now-inactive blog Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, authored by Peter Kidd. While the blog appeared to offer research-based insight into manuscript history, its sustained use by dealers and auction houses suggests a different purpose: commercial promotion.

The blog, inactive since 2023, was never peer-reviewed, nor did it include any institutional affiliation, copyright disclaimer, or non-commercial declaration. This distinguishes it sharply from heritage-focused blogs such as Cristina Cumbo’s LaTPC, which publicly adhere to Article 70, paragraph 1-bis of Italian Law No. 633/1941 and Creative Commons licensing.
Kidd’s posts were often cited by manuscript dealers to support the provenance of excised leaves—that is, single pages removed from illuminated manuscripts for sale. In several cases, Kidd contributed directly to auction catalogue entries. His role in the commercial circulation of leaves from dismantled codices has been documented in recent academic studies, especially in relation to the so-called Courtanvaux Hours, now reconstructed as the Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy.
In parallel, Peter Kidd became the author of a targeted campaign against Prof. Carla Rossi, a scholar involved in exposing and reconstructing dismembered manuscripts. Between 2022 and 2024, Kidd published and circulated defamatory material, falsely presenting Rossi’s work as plagiarised, despite the availability of legal and academic counter-evidence.
The full chronology and documentary response to this defamatory campaign is available at the following links:
This post is part of ISFiDA’s commitment to scholarly transparency, digital integrity, and the defence of cultural research from reputational attacks and commercial distortion.




 
 

Recent Posts

See All
Peter Kidd, Sotheby's and the ReceptioGate

Universities and public research funding agencies have one fundamental job: to recognize and evaluate evidence. Yet, for the past few years, the Swiss academic establishment—specifically the Universit

 
 
bottom of page