Peter Kidd, Medieval Manuscripts Provenance: Excised Leaves, and the Illusion of Provenance Research – 2025 Commentary

Peter Kidd’s blog Medieval Manuscripts Provenance was for years perceived as a niche tool for tracing manuscript ownership. However, a closer examination of its structure, purpose, and use by dealers reveals that the blog often functioned as an amplifier for the commercial circulation of excised leaves — folios removed from illuminated manuscripts and sold individually on the antiquarian market.

The blog, which has not been updated since early 2023, lacked any formal peer-review structure, legal disclaimer, or public interest statement. Unlike cultural heritage blogs that operate within a clear legal framework (such as Cristina Cumbo’s LaTPC, which adheres to Italian copyright law and Creative Commons licensing), Kidd’s platform never declared a non-commercial purpose.

Several antiquarian dealers cited Kidd’s blog to legitimise auctions of single leaves with ambiguous provenance. In some cases, Kidd contributed auction catalogue entries himself. His involvement in the commercial promotion of items from dismantled manuscripts — most notably in the case of the Courtanvaux Hours, now reconstructed as the Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy — has been documented in academic publications.

More critically, Kidd attempted to discredit those who publicly denounced these practices. Among his targets was Prof. Carla Rossi, whose reconstruction work exposed the financial mechanisms behind the dismemberment of devotional manuscripts. The defamation campaign that followed is now thoroughly documented.

🔗 To consult the official analysis:👉 Peter Kidd Manuscripts Provenance 2025 – A Documented Analysis

🔗 For additional documentation:• OProM – Kidd and the Mazzarelli Case• Timeline of the ReceptioGate Affair• Peter Kidd – Role in the Defamation Campaign• Official Communications Archive• Medium – What is #ReceptioGate, really?• Zenodo DOI Version• Isabelle Boursier’s Book of Hours (2024)