User:Lemporelle/The Philippi Collection

The Philippi Collection is a collection of clerical, religious and spiritual headdresses.



The Collection
The Philippi Collection is a private collection assembled by the entrepreneur Dieter Philippi, CEO of a German telecommunication distributor, located in Kirkel.

The main focus of the collection is on more than 500 head coverings gathered from Christianity, Islam, Caodaism,Shinto, Buddhism, Sikhism, Free Churches, Sufism, Anabaptism and further communities of faith.

Moreover that, the collection contains more than 100 pieces of accessories used for clerical and ecclesiastic purposes. Among these are shoes of the Pope, pontificial gloves, pallia, pectoral crosses, rings of bishops, pieces of the papal china, sashes, scarves of cardinals and others.

Furthermore, the collection includes 52 pectoral cross-cords, some of which are products of the laborious craft of trimming. Within the Roman-Catholic church, the Pope, cardinals and bishops make use of these pectoral cross-cords to fix their pectoral crosses.

Location
The collection is currently not on public display. However, it may be made accessible to intrigued visitors on telephonic request. The collection is located at Kirkel in Saarland, Germany.

Conception and Intention
Originally, head coverings served protective purposes. In the course of history, they gained a signifying function as well: Head coverings indicate a person's origin, status, profession, belonging and hierarchy. Eventually, an ornamental function of headdresses emerged.

Religious and clerical head coverings represent a small group of the whole scope of hats. For those familiar with the respective meaning of these headdresses, it is possible to deduce the belonging and status of dignitaries from their hats. Additionally, some head coverings convey an ornamental function as well, since they are made from expensive, rare or precious material. Nowadays, the protective function is not so prominent anymore.

Exhibitions

 * October 2010 - July 2011: The German Museum of Hygiene will have a small part of the collection on display as part of its exhibition Kraftwerk Religion (The Powerhouse of Religion).
 * March - April 2011: Headquarters of the Savings Bank in Saarbrücken