ReceptioGate 2026: Peter Kidd and the Turin MS E.V.5 Folios
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
The origins of the so-called ReceptioGate cannot be understood without considering the case of Turin Manuscript E.V.5.
This early sixteenth-century French manuscript, preserved in the National University Library of Turin, lost three illuminated leaves in 1979. For decades their whereabouts remained unknown. During her research on dismembered manuscripts and the international trade in excised leaves, Carla Rossi identified the missing folios on the antiquarian market and documented their appearance in Sotheby's London sales.
The descriptions published in the 2015 Sotheby's catalogue were prepared by Peter Kidd, who would later become the most visible promoter of the online campaign directed against Rossi and the research centre RECEPTIO.
The three leaves were subsequently recovered by the Italian Carabinieri TPC and returned to the library in 2018.
The chronology deserves attention. The manuscript research came first. The identification of the leaves came next. Reports to the authorities followed. Only afterwards did the campaign known as ReceptioGate emerge.
Understanding this sequence of events is essential for understanding the historical background of the affair.
