Creating a 78 card Mamluk deck

earthair

I don't think the Mamluk had majors...

That shouldn't mean all artists are forever forbidden from 'completing' the deck in which ever way they feel fit ;)

In fact if no-one else has or plans to do a full deck in the artistic style of, then I'll throw my hat in the ring :)

_____________________________________

These posts were split from

http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=214959

to create a new thread on creating a 78 card Mamluk deck.

Alta
Moderator
 

blue_fusion

That shouldn't mean all artists are forever forbidden from 'completing' the deck in which ever way they feel fit ;)

In fact if no-one else has or plans to do a full deck in the artistic style of, then I'll throw my hat in the ring :)

Actually, I have my own plans regarding a full deck. Haha Bit of a challenge, though given the lack of figures. Then again, there's the Tyldwick. And I may just scrap the aphorisms (which, in fairness, were added some time after the deck was created). I think we should all work on our ideas/projects! :D it brings more interest to this interesting historical deck.
 

earthair

Your Huramentado cards look the purrfect size for this project :D
 

trzes

That shouldn't mean all artists are forever forbidden from 'completing' the deck in which ever way they feel fit ;)

In fact if no-one else has or plans to do a full deck in the artistic style of, then I'll throw my hat in the ring :)

Actually, I have my own plans regarding a full deck. Haha Bit of a challenge, though given the lack of figures. Then again, there's the Tyldwick. And I may just scrap the aphorisms (which, in fairness, were added some time after the deck was created). I think we should all work on our ideas/projects! :D it brings more interest to this interesting historical deck.

Cool, we might end up with no less than four mamluk style decks, at least three of which being extended to full tarot decks :D. Although finding abstract forms for all 22 major arcana might turn out to be tricky indeed. I already started collecting abstract decks to find some inspiration he he.
 

blue_fusion

Cool, we might end up with no less than four mamluk style decks, at least three of which being extended to full tarot decks :D. Although finding abstract forms for all 22 major arcana might turn out to be tricky indeed. I already started collecting abstract decks to find some inspiration he he.

Here is a tip, or at least what I have been planning. Look into Islamic iconography to get a better gauge on what objects represent what concepts, and work from there. ;)
 

blue_fusion

Your Huramentado cards look the purrfect size for this project :D

They might be too narrow! Another tip to you and all others working on a Mamluk: MPC does custom dimensions at fairly ok rates. ;)

This is actually a long time project/idea for me. I wanted to surprise folks which is why I kept it hush-hush but I think it might be better for the Mamluk and its future if we pool our ideas together. It doesn't necessarily mean we'll end up with the same deck. Chances are, we have different focuses on how we want the end result to look like.

For me, a full 78-card deck will be Tarot coming full circle. Sorta. The arabs brought cards to the west, the west added their "triumps", and now (hopefully), there will be a full deck returning to the style of its origin. Sort of. :D
 

blue_fusion

And in a way, it's like pips-ing the majors. Turning them into decorative versions, like their counterparts in the Marseille pips.
 

earthair

I'll lay my cards on the table so to speak... :joke:

I plan to paint a one off, totally handcrafted 78 card deck by hand. I love working with gold paint. *drools slightly at the thought*
If it's a masterpiece I'll treasure it for ever and get prints done. If it's a disaster
they will make good bookmarks!
I know nothing at all about Arabic, so my text, if I even use any, will be in English.
 

blue_fusion

I'll lay my cards on the table so to speak... :joke:

I plan to paint a one off, totally handcrafted 78 card deck by hand. I love working with gold paint. *drools slightly at the thought*
If it's a masterpiece I'll treasure it for ever and get prints done. If it's a disaster
they will make good bookmarks!
I know nothing at all about Arabic, so my text, if I even use any, will be in English.

Another suggestion: you might want to consider the Rubaiyat for the text. It has more than enough quatrains to cover all 78 cards. ;)

As you can see, I have thought long and hard on this project. :D but more than that, I'm really excited at the prospect of a number of decks being made in its style. :)

Looking forward to your golden version! Hey, you can call it the Golden Mamluk! :D
 

trzes

It doesn't necessarily mean we'll end up with the same deck.

If there was any chance to make my cards look like a Lynyrd Narciso deck I wouldn't hesitate :D But no way ...

Thanks for mentioning MPC. Wow, they even offer hexagonal cards.

And I second Islamic iconography. It would definitely be worth digging into it. I already have a couple of books about the mathematical foundation of arabic patterns (maybe only suitable for my formalistic take on the whole thing of course).

Ha! And I already started reading English and German translations of the Mystic Rubayat too, in search of possible texts for the blue patches on the cards. But after all in my deck at least there won't be any blue patches.