“Moorish” cards: a study

If you have a few minutes and want to read about Moorish playing cards please click on the link below and read Lady Heather’s post!

Lady Heather Hall

I recently acquired a replica pack of cards from the Fournier Museum in Vittoria, Spain. These represent what are believed to be the oldest cards in Europe. Although little is known about them, there is plenty of reason to speculate, as they are littered with taunting clues to the primordial days of European cards. For example, the pack was found in Seville, but the head on the ace of coins sports a hat stylish in Northern Italy at the time. The ‘clubs’ suit seems to have retained the polo stick shape, connecting them to Mamluk cards, as well as Italian-suited packs and the Portuguese pattern (aka dragon cards). The figures wear Gothic and Saracen attire, reinforcing the connection to Arab influences. Current estimates (Fournier) place this pack at around 1390.
The reproduction pack makes no attempts to provide substitutes for missing cards, so it is unplayable.

I’m compelled to do…

View original post 529 more words