Case : 056The playing cards first entered Europe in the 14th century, probably from Mamluk Egypt. Some set of Tarot cards called Visconti-Sforza Decks are the oldest surviving examples dating from the mid-15th century in Milan, using the Mamluk suits of cups, coins, swords, and polo-sticks, which are still used in traditional Latin suit decks. At the same time, the Flemish Hunting Deck, the Stuttgarter Kartenspiel and the Ambraser Hofjagdspiel were produced in the Rhine basin are the three oldest set of ordinary playing cards made in Europe from the 15th century, using hunting-theme suit, more similar with Ganjifa suit. All of them are hand-painting with the illuminated paper technic. Latterly, from about 1418 to 1450 professional card makers in Ulm, Nuremberg, and Augsburg created printed decks. Playing cards even competed with devotional images as the most common uses for woodcuts in this period.
Related Case: 055, 057