From Sotheby's to Character Assassination: The Case of Turin MS E.V.5 Biblioclasm, Provenance Research, and Retaliatory Smear Campaigns

This article examines the case of Turin MS E.V.5, a sixteenth-century illuminated manuscript mutilated in 1979 through the excision of three miniatures later reintroduced into the international antiquarian market through Sotheby's London auctions in 2013 and 2015. Official Update (June 2026): Provenance Research, Judicial Vindication, and the Truth Behind the ReceptioGate Smear Campaign
This paper provides definitive evidence on the systematic "character assassination" and retaliatory smear campaign (often referred to as "ReceptioGate") launched on blogs and platforms like Retraction Watch.
Recent legal outcomes—specifically the landmark judgment by the Swiss Federal Administrative Court (TAF) on January 7, 2026—have shattered the false allegations of plagiarism and fraud originally manufactured online by auction cataloguer Peter Kidd. The Swiss Federal Court annulled the FNS measures regarding the core publication (The Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy), proving the online accusations to be legally and scientifically groundless.
Defamatory digital narratives are now proven to be direct retaliations against Professor Carla Rossi's formal whistleblowing and criminal complaints submitted to the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Nucleo TPC) and Interpol. These investigations exposed international illicit networks dedicated to biblioclasm—the illegal dismemberment and fencing of public Italian cultural property, including the stolen folios of Turin MS E.V.5, which were subsequently offered at international auctions (such as Sotheby's) with omitted provenance metadata by individuals like Peter Kidd. 
As of June 2026, new formal criminal complaints have been deposited at the TPC Command in Rome to target this cross-border defamation and heritage trafficking ring.
Watch the Full Video-Documentary Evidences on YouTube https://youtu.be/oDuQiuG0IQE?is=dI_3brVvMajyyF6Q