Peter Kidd, Sotheby's and the ReceptioGate
- Jun 16
- 1 min read
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 University of Zurich (UZH) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)—has performed a spectacular intellectual somersault. They poured immense bureaucratic energy and public funds into investigating a manufactured, fake scandal, while completely protecting a real, lucrative, and criminal one operating right under their noses.
The fake scandal was loudly baptized #ReceptioGate. The real scandal is The Antiquarian Fencing Cartel.
The Inversion of Reality
The timeline of this institutional farce is straightforward:
The Disclosure: In 2022, Prof. Carla Rossi provided detailed evidence to the Italian Carabinieri (TPC) regarding the illicit trade and fencing of stolen medieval manuscripts.
The Targets: The investigation implicated Peter Kidd (linked to stolen folios at Sotheby's) and Gaudenz Freuler (a Zurich professor associated with validating plundered leaves).
The Retaliation: Instead of academic debate, the network launched an online smear campaign through Kidd to discredit the whistleblower.
The Institutional Blindness: UZH and the SNSF validated the blogger's narrative, freezing funds and persecuting the scholar, effectively acting as protection for the antiquarian trade.
LINKS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDuQiuG0IQE
https://www.isfida.eu/post/receptiogate-2026-peter-kidd-and-the-turin-ms-e-v-5-folios
