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A playing card with a hand printed motif of stars, birds and clouds

On off-white card stock with a pale gray background, a fine lined engraving depicts four white clouds, one hovering above the other, each lined with red at the top. Rows of either one, two or three yellow stars are interspersed between the clouds. There are seven stars in all, and each one has six points. At top are two yellow birds in flight, on either side of a single star. Below, crouched on the ground, a dog-like creature looks upward with a reptilian head and flickering tongue. The Roman numeral “XXIII”, appears at upper left. Five concentric dotted lines form a border around the image.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
M2066
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Playing Card: Air (Trump XXIII)
Other Titles
Former Title: Card LXXIX
Series/Book Title: Tarots Playing Cards for Florentine Game of Minchiate, Complete Set of 97 Cards
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
19th century
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Italy, Tuscany, Florence
Culture
Italian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/251697

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Engraving with stenciled opaque watercolor on card
Technique
Engraving
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: upper left, in plate: XXIII

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Edward Waldo Forbes, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1921

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
see W. G. Benham, pp. 5-7

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Edward W. Forbes
Accession Year
1921
Object Number
M2066
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2220 18th-19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/16/2020 - 07/30/2021

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu