The four seasons personified

The Maker

The imprint of Jacob Gole is shown on both the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Spades. Jacob Gole (1660-1737), son of the esteemed French cabinet-maker Pierre Gole, was a Dutch draftsman, engraver and publisher who was best-known for his portraits. Over the course of his career, he engraved and printed portraits of highly influential figures, including Pope Innocent XI, Louis XIV and Rembrandt.

The Cards

Each card in the present deck shows a highly detailed depiction of a different figure, the majority of them labelled in both French and Dutch. The Aces are allegorical personficiations of the four seasons, and the King and Queen cards show monarchs from each of the four continents, while the Jacks are figures from the Commedia dell’Arte. The pip cards represent a variety of different categories:

10 – the continents

9 – the elements

8 – parts of the day

7 – the senses

6 – the arts

5 – the sciences

4, 3, 2 – the months

MORTIER, Pieter

Jeu de la Guerre.

Publication [Netherlands, Pieter Mortier, c1700].

Description

52 engraved playing cards with text, versos plain, housed within printed paper box with engraved battle scene above publisher’s name and place to side.

Dimensions 85 by 56mm (3.25 by 2.25 inches).

References

Hargrave 62-68; Yale 778/HOLsheet264; van den Bergh pp.44-45.