The document, a copy of the ordinances of the Gremi de Velluters signed by Ferdinand the Catholic in 1479, was discovered by agents from the Alicante Heritage Group of the National Police Unit attached to the Valencian Community during their cultural heritage protection duties.
Thanks to this police intervention, the manuscript will be included in the Valencian Documentary Heritage Census and the General Inventory of Valencian Cultural Heritage. This cataloging will entail the establishment of adequate protection guarantees for its patrimonial value, which its current owner must comply with.
It was confirmed that the seller's father carried out a procedure with the manuscript book in 1992, consisting of its microfilming at the National Service for the Conservation of Documentary and Bibliographic Microfilming, without this leading to its inclusion in an administrative inventory of cultural protection.
The investigation began when agents detected an online advertisement for an
The seller stated he was unaware of the document's origin, claiming his father had acquired it in the seventies. However, officials from the Archive of the College of Silk Art identified the manuscript as part of their collection, confirming it was listed in the 1907 inventory but not in the 1909 one, and that it had not been sold by the institution. Therefore, it is believed to have been stolen during that period.
Despite the theft, current legislation allows the current legal owner to retain the manuscript, as acquisitive prescription applies due to continuous possession of the asset. Nevertheless, they must comply with conservation measures established by the state law on Historical Heritage and the autonomous law on Cultural Heritage, which also regulate sales and export restrictions.
The owner agreed to the temporary deposit of the manuscript in the Archive of the Kingdom of Valencia for verification by technical staff from the General Directorate of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture.
The ordinances of the Gremi de Velluters, approved on February 16, 1479, and ratified on October 13 of the same year by Ferdinand the Catholic, granted artistic privilege to a trade that previously lacked it. The manuscript, a green vellum book bound in velvet of the same color with bronze clasps, includes both the 1479 chapters and those of the Confraternity of San Jerónimo, founded in 1483.
The College of Silk Art possesses one of Europe's oldest guild archives, with documentation dating back to the 15th century, including minute books, treasurers' books, masters', officials' and apprentices' books, as well as administration and inspection records for factories and businesses, primarily related to velvet makers or 'velluters', but also to other guilds such as sailmakers or ribbon makers.
