King Cards in XV Century Decks

[DoctorArcanus]

I noticed that there is some similarity between the kings of the Visconti Sforza deck and those of the Sola Busca. The posture of the legs of the Kings, in particular the Kings of Cups and the Kings of Swords, is very similar. Also the left hand of the King of Coins has as similar posture. (Image here)

The King of swords of the Municipal Library of Rouen is very similar to the Sola Busca Alexander: I think it is possibly derived from it.

Do you agree that there is some similarity between these Sola-Busca and Visconti-Sforza cards?

Do you think it likely that it is casual, or do we have to assume that the author of Sola Busca had knowledge of a copy of the Visconti Sforza deck?

Do other XV Century Kings show some similarity with these images?

Do you think the posture of the legs has some kind of symbolic meaning?

Marco

 

[Ross G Caldwell]

Hi Marco,

I agree there is an uncanny similarity, if not exact identity, between the Kings of V-S and the S-B. Especially the profile aspect of the King of Cups. The legs of the Coin and Baton aren't crossed in the S-B, and the Sword of S-B is down instead of up like in the V-S, however.

4 or 5 copies of the V-S have survived, and it is generally assumed that it was a greatly copied deck - at least as long as people painted cards. I can't think of any reason why the Sola Busca artist might not have known it.

Except for the King of Cups, I would have put the similarities down to convention, but if there is any symbolism in the positions of the legs, etc. then the S-B artist made deliberate changes.

Symbolism is not out of the question, since I have read that sculptors of military monuments indicated things about generals through the position of their horses legs in posthumous monuments (i.e. if the horse is rearing on his hind legs, the man died in battle, etc.). But these conventions might have started later than the 15th century.

I haven't yet checked to see other 15th century packs Kings.

 

[DoctorArcanus]

I also had the impression that the author of the Sola-Busca deck might have known a copy of Visconti Sforza. I find particularly interesting that we might here have some little evidence of how elements of an hand-painted deck were trasferred to an engraved deck.

About the symbolism, I found this:

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Cross-legged Knights

indicate that the person so represented died in the Christian faith. As crusaders were supposed so to do, they were generally represented on their tombs with crossed legs. 1
“Sometimes the figure on the tomb of a knight has his legs crossed at the ankles, this meant that the knight went one crusade. If the legs are crossed at the knees, he went twice; if at the thighs he went three times.”—Ditchfield: Our Villeges, 1889.​

I think I read somewhere (possibly in Meditations on the Tarot) a different interpretation: a king is represented cross-legged when he is expressing judgement.

Marco

 

[Ross G Caldwell]

I also had the impression that the author of the Sola-Busca deck might have known a copy of Visconti Sforza. I find particularly interesting that we might here have some little evidence of how elements of an hand-painted deck were trasferred to an engraved deck.

A terribly important point, especially considering most people consider this is the way it went. One way to get at this problem might be to consider how wood-engravers used manuscript miniatures as their models when books and illustrations began to be printed.

I found in my looking at the Papessa, that the painted miniatures of the Bocaccio "Famous Women" were the direct inspiration for the earliest woodcuts and printings of his book. I don't have any links on hand, but I'll look.

About the symbolism, I found this:

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Cross-legged Knights

indicate that the person so represented died in the Christian faith. As crusaders were supposed so to do, they were generally represented on their tombs with crossed legs. 1
“Sometimes the figure on the tomb of a knight has his legs crossed at the ankles, this meant that the knight went one crusade. If the legs are crossed at the knees, he went twice; if at the thighs he went three times.”—Ditchfield: Our Villeges, 1889.​

Well that's interesting. I'll look again at the knightly monuments when I see them. I wonder if this convention carried on in some way *after* the Crusades were over?

I think I read somewhere (possibly in Meditations on the Tarot) a different interpretation: a king is represented cross-legged when he is expressing judgement.

Marco

I think I also remember somebody saying that the crossed legs represent a man of leisure, somebody who is at the top of the hierarchy.

Ross