Papal tiara on the "sedia gestatoria" (portable throne), was based on the Byzantine imperial ceremonies witnessed in medieval Constantinople. Medieval tarot cards included a card showing a woman wearing a papal tiara and known as the "Popess or Papess" or the "High Priestess". The meaning and symbolism of the card is uncertain. The crowned woman has variously been identified as Pope Joan (a woman who according to a medieval and later Protestant legend had disguised herself as a man and been elected pope; some cards also show a child, and the Pope Joan legend pictured her as found out when she gave
Flabellum museum of the University of Pennsylvania. The spread is formed of great ostrich plumes tipped with peacock feathers; on the palm (base of the fan) are the arms of the Holy See, worked in heavy gold on a crimson field, the tiara being studded with rubies and emeralds. The new pair of flabella is on display in the Vatican museum. Lisbon Patriarchal Cathedral also holds two Flabella and one Sedia Gestatoria in its museum. It is thought the right of the Cardinal patriarchs to use such honour was granted after the efforts of king John V of Portugal that obtained