Philippi Collection

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

Dieter Philippi with the first piece of his collection: a cardinal's biretta made from red watered silk

The Collection

Selected items from the Philippi Collection

Golden pectoral cross-cord - worn by the Roman Catholic Pope

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, Judaism, 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 Deutsches Hygiene-Museum will have a small part of the collection on display as part of its exhibition Religious Energy (Kraftwerk Religion).
• March - April 2011: Headquarters of the Savings Bank in Saarbrücken

References

• Philippi, Dieter (2009). Sammlung Philippi – Kopfbedeckungen in Glaube, Religion und Spiritualität. St. Benno Verlag, Leipzig. ISBN 978-3-7462-2800-6.
• Smoltczyk, Alexander (2008). Vatikanistan - Eine Entdeckungsreise durch den kleinsten Staat der Welt. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, München. ISBN 978-3-453-15434-6. p. 92

Gallery

• Selected items from the Philippi Collection
• 
  Kalansowa (Kalansoah, Qalansuwah, Kalansawa) - within the Coptic orthodox church, this head covering is worn by bishops and priests belonging to monkhood
• 
  Zucchetto (pileolus, soli deo, skullcap) made from white watered silk - worn by the Pope
• 
  Sagharvart - worn by the archpriests of the Armenian apostolic church
• 
  Saturno (Cappello Romano) belonging to an archbishop; sumptuously embroidered with gold wire and bouillon
• 
  Shtreimel - worn by Hasidic Jews on Sabbath and on holidays
• 
  Biretta Kurhessen-Waldeck – worn by Protestant priests with their robes when on duty outside the church
• 
  Tam Quam Mao - worn by the cardinals of the Blue Party in Cao Dai
• 
  Pan Zva (hat with long ears) - worn by the bandit of the Nyinhma School belonging to Tibetan Buddhism
• 
  Imam Sarik - Worn by Muslim Imams, mainly in Egypt
• 
  Red loafers, manufactured by papal shoemaker Adriano Stefanelli, Novara - Worn by H.H. Pope Benedict XVI

External links

• Homepage of the Philippi Collection
• Press commentaries