EXHIBITION

 
Already in the Middle Ages, liturgical vestments made of splendid materials, with their rich colours and valuable trimmings, were set apart from ordinary everyday clothing. Even the undergarments were frequently elaborately worked and expensively deco rated. Yet the particular significance of ceremonial attire goes beyond its ornamental function. In the mediaeval liturgy every individual item of attire was integrated into a ritual vesting process in preparation for the divine service.

By attiring themselves in liturgical vestments, accompanied by vesting prayers, priests and bishops would undergo a process of purification and thus a transition from the secular to the holy world. In so doing, the priests would put aside their everyday life with its sins and temptations. Thus purified, they could then celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass at the altar as worthy office-bearers.

By means of a collection of soft liturgical under garments, impressive ceremonial vestments and art treasures, the exhibition traces the spiritual transformation of the mediaeval cleric through the process of changing his attire. Preparing oneself for a particular event or activity by putting on particular garments is not limited to the ecclesiastical field; it is often very personal and always of current interest. Based on the theme of the exhibition, the contemporary photographs of a bishop by Herlinde Koelbl open up a new perspective on the subject of changing clothes, and at the same time provide a stimulus for us to think more deeply about our own everyday enrobing rituals.

From left to right: Alb, Switzerland, circa 1300-1310, detail; Dalmatic, blue silk, velvet, Italy, circa 1450 and Cologne Orphreys, circa 1450; Pearl Ciborium, Hildesheim, circa 1250-1300. Photos: RBA Köln and Thomas Zwillinger