[Commedia dell’ Arte].

from The Art of the Deal

by Daniel Crouch Rare Books

Not your ordinary video game

Publication [?Netherlands, c1690].

Description

51 engraved playing cards, without the Three of Clubs.

Dimensions

86 by 56mm (3.5 by 2.25 inches).

References Van den Bergh pp.30-31.

The lower right-hand corner of the Queen of Spades shows the monogram ‘SH’. Apart from this, there is nothing to identify the maker of this deck.

The Cards

Commedia dell’Arte was a theatrical movement that originated in Italy during the sixteenth century and soon became popular across the continent. Its farcical plotlines revolved around a cast of stock characters, and it was one of the earliest forms of theatre that permitted women to perform on stage in public. The widespread success of Commedia dell’Arte is evidenced by the present deck of playing cards, which depicts the artists, musicians and characters associated with the genre, including masked players, harlequins and lecherous old men.

Van den Bergh has suggested that the Kings and Queens found in the deck may have been intended as personifications of the four continents. As typical of such allegorical representations, they are shown wearing exotic dress and surrounded by distinctive animals. In this case, however, it is difficult to distinguish whether such designs are supposed to evoke the idea of the continents, or the characters from Commedia dell’Arte.

The value of each card is contained within the suit mark, although an error appears on the Ten of Hearts, where the 1 and the 0 have been switched. This is likely the only deck in private ownership (van den Bergh).