The Tarocco cards were thus called from the game “Little Tarots” or “Tarocci,” played at the time, said to have been invented by Francis Fibbia. Thus the older name of Tarots became corrupted to Tarocco, although the number and value of the original pack remained unaltered.
The cards painted for Cardinal Sforza are still in existence. Some are shown in the Carrara Museum at Bergamo; others are in the possession of Count Alessandro Colleoni; while thirty-five cards of this pack are owned by Mr. Pierpont Morgan and are exhibited by him in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
It is impossible to do justice to the beauty of this set of cards that are painted in the most delicate manner. The background is of gold picked out or embossed with a diapered pattern dotted in raised designs on a smooth surface; the figures are cleverly moddeled and beautifully executed; the faces are painted with the delicate touch of an accomplished miniaturist. That of the Knave of Money is seen in profile, and is so expressive that it is probably a likeness, since the treatment is even more careful and the features better drawn than those of most of the Atouts.
The Knight of Cups in the pack (originally owned by Count Alessandro Colleoni, now owned by Mr. Morgan) is mounted on a white horse and is dressed in an embroidered coat, with white leggings and pointed shoes. The hair is parted and falls in waves on either side of the face, which is that of a very young boy and rather effeminate. There is a crown on the saddle-cloth of the horse that probably denotes the rank of the rider.
The King of Swords also seems to be a likeness. He wears black armour, and his shield displays armorial bearings. The Queen of Money has a beautifully embroidered robe with a regal mantle falling from her shoulders. Her hands are particularly well drawn and her attitude is remarkably graceful.
Temperance, Death, and Strength are among this pack, the former pouring the water and oil together, which is one of the earliest known devices for consulting the wishes of the gods. Death is the usual skeleton, who in this case bears a sceptre, and Strength also repeats the emblem of the sceptre or the caduceus.
CHAPTER IX
HEARTS, DIAMONDS, SPADES, AND CLUBS