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~~ Gallery 5 ~~ The Tarot and other Early Cards · page VIII · THE TAROT DE PARIS part 2

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THE SUIT CARDS

A general consideration is that all the suit cards have a two-digit index, referring to the value and suit, respectively. The shape of the index is also peculiar, as it looks like a small cartouche decorated with tiny rampant lions, which appears at the top and bottom rim of the subject. Aces and court cards, instead, have only the top index, being the bottom one replaced by the name of the subject in full (as the one the trumps have). The letters used are A (As, "ace"), F (Faon archaic word for "knave"), R (Royne, "queen") and again R (Roy, "king"). Therefore, kings and queens of the same suit have identical indices, what makes them quite useless for a player. The use of F for knaves is quite unusual, and reminiscent of the italian Fante), although early Italian tarots never had indices.

an unusual 2 of Swords, with hands

aces of Coins and Cups	The real oddity of the Tarot de Paris is represented by the four aces: unlike in any other tarot known, they feature the suit sign on a large flag held by a lion (Coins), a deer (Cups), a griffon (Batons) and a unicorn (Swords). This is very similar to the flags that in some German hunting decks appeared on the 10s of all suits (picture on the right). The Parisian subjects was probably borrowed from these card, although they are aces, worth 1.		10 of Hounds (Stuttgarter Spielkarten)

	Another riddle is the spelling of the word AS ("ace"): in all four cards it clearly reads "AR"; it is not a typo, and at the same time it makes no sense. The ace of Swords also has an index that reads "A S" instead of "A E" (i.e. As d'Espee, according to the name of the Swords suit, also spelt in the court cards). In each suit the pips are decorated in a different way, and arranged in non-standard fashion. Coins bear the crests of several noble families of those times; the one used for decorating the most important subjects (ace and all four courts) features the three fleur-de-lys of the French royal family.	aces of Swords and Batons

10 of Swords and 9 of Batons; note the unusual arrangement of the pips	Cups are shaped as the type found in Spanish cards, i.e. the ones closed with a lid, variously decorated with motifs, small heads, etc., in such a way that not two of them are identical in the whole suit. Swords are sabres, i.e. with a curved blade, except for the knave, who holds a long and straight sword of mediaeval fashion. Batons are cudgels, again as in Spanish cards, but without a rounded end; they are similar to those held by the court personages in a standard Marseille pack.	queen of Batons

Lastly, some courts are portrayed in unusual attitudes, such as the knave of Cups and the cavalier of Swords, drawn as seen from the back. In conclusion, the Tarot de Paris may be considered as the attempt by an unknown card designer to blend the local traditional tarot with elements borrowed from other existing patterns (Italian, German, Spanish), moved by the intention of creating a fancy, unusual, attractive deck. And since four centuries later his cards still stir our interest, we should agree that his goal has been fully achieved.

the two courts pictured from the back

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further reference to tarot decks can be found in Trionfi and in The Hermitage

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