An Ovidian deck

The Maker

For a description of Pieter Mortier, please see item 3.

The Cards

In the first century AD, the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (better known as Ovid) composed fifteen books of verse entitled ‘The Metamorphoses’. The poem describes the creation and history of the world according to Greek and Roman mythology, with all of the stories concluding in a physical transformation. The hunter Actaeon, for instance, transforms into a deer and the nymph Daphne changes into a laurel tree, as famously captured in a sculpture by Bernini. ‘The Metamorphoses’ would go on to become one of antiquity’s most influential pieces of literature, inspiring Shakespeare in particular.

In 1705, Nicolas de Fer, a maker of playing cards based in Paris, published a deck on the theme of the poem. On each card is a detailed illustration of one of the stories, accompanied by a short description of the scene in French. The upper centre of the card bears the suit mark, which contains within it the value. The court cards are designated with “R[oi]” for the King cards, “D[ame]” for the Queen, “C[hevalier]” for the Knight, and “P[rince]” for the Jack.

The present deck by Pieter Mortier was published five years later, and seems to be an exact copy of de Fer’s. An example in the Printroom of the British Museum in London still has the original wrapper, which shows an image of the most important gods on top of a cloud.

[ANONYMOUS], after Lautje van Schotten

[1720s Bubble playing cards].

Publication [Netherlands, c1720].

Description

60 engraved playing cards, versos blank.

Dimensions 65 by 52mm (2.5 by 2 inches).

References

Van den Bergh p.26; for similar see Yale 1027/HOL26.