It might be of interest to reconsider, that in 1395 a Milanese delegation visited the court of King Wenzel ... and possibly they got impressions from the socalled "Wenzel-Werkstatt", which - beside other projects - was responsible for the Wenzel-bible or Wenzelsbible (which is said to have had hundreds of miniatures beside decorated initials and illustrated borders.
It has also preference for birds ... which we find also in the description of the Michelino-deck.



http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/7 ... tt_002.jpg

Many other pictures you find with Google images.

Mikeh copied the three emperor pictures of Brera-Brambilla, Cary-Yale and Pierport-Morgan-Bergamo Tarocchi.

It seems plausible to argument, that the beard of the person at Brera-Brambilla and Cary-Yale looks similar ("splitted beard"), the third emperor (PMB) is often judged to be similar to emperor Sigismund(1411-1437).

Here are pictures of King Wenzel (1378-1400):


"splitted beard", Wenzelsbibel
http://www.zvab.com/basicSearch.do?anyW ... igs-wenzel


"splitted beard" (?), Wenzelsbibel
http://www.reisser-kunstpostkarten.de/index.asp?gid=70


"splitted beard", "Vaclav IV - Darstellung Rechtsbuch von Olmütz, um das Jahr 1430"
http://www.sachsen-im-internet.de/index ... ial&sw=672


"splitted beard" (?), Herbarium of King Wenzel
http://www.skriptorium.at/catalog/produ ... cts_id=441


"splitted beard" (?), Altar-picture of "King Balthasar"
http://www.fr-online.de/rhein-main/bad- ... 5040464/-/

The emperor of the Brera-Brambilla, Cary-Yale and Pierport-Morgan tarot dont have crown. I think this is a important detail.

mmfilesi wrote:The emperor of the Brera-Brambilla, Cary-Yale and Pierport-Morgan tarot dont have crown. I think this is a important detail.

Yes, but the hat is rather similar for both persons (in the case, that Brera Brambilla and Cary-Yale show the same person).

Two articles about the crown of Lombardy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Crown_of_Lombardy
http://austria-lexikon.at/af/Wissenssam ... _Lombardei

The reports contradict a little bit, as it seems.

The crown of Lombardy was (or is) in Monza and Monza is a location on Milanese territory. The German article notes:

Durch die Krönung von Konrad III. (1093-1152) im Jahre 1128 war Monza zur norditalienischen Krönungsstadt geworden. Zunächst existierte die Eiserne Krone der Langobarden nur als Legende. Dann aber ließ Heinrich VII. (Kaiser 1298-1308) eine für Krönungen tatsächlich verwendbare eiserne Krone herstellen. Im 15. Jahrhundert bildete sich die „Dreikrönungslegende" heraus: Der Römische Kaiser habe drei Kronen zu empfangen: mit einer goldenen Krone würde er in Rom zum Kaiser gekrönt, mit einer silbernen in Aachen zum deutschen König und mit einer eisernen in Mailand zum italienischen König. Die dreifache Krönung sollte den Kaiser dem mit der Tiara, der dreifachen Krone, ausgestatteten Papst ebenbürtig machen. Erst 1530 wurde Karl V. durch Papst Klemens VII. in Bologna mit jenem Reif gekrönt, den wir heute die „Eiserne Krone der Lombardei" nennen. Er sollte der erste und letzte Römische Kaiser sein, der mit der lombardischen Krone gekrönt wurde.

According this a three-crowns-legend was formed during 15th century: silver crown, Aachen, German kingdom; iron crown, Monza, Lombardy; golden crown, Rome, Empire.
In 15th century Filippo Maria Visconti was the dominating man in Lombardy. Indeed he showed a special engagement in Monza before 1444 (the work of the Zavattari brothers in Monza), indeed in a time, when just the Cary-Yale Tarocchi might have been done. Also he engaged for Pavia, which had been a traditional place for the crowning ceremony.

Perhaps the "strange emperor hat" has a context in a projected reformation of the Lombardic crowning ritual?

Emperor Sigismondo was crowned 1431 in Milan (not Monza, not Pavia ?) ... Filippo Maria didn't participate.

At least at this picture (Sigismondo) the idea seems to be given to present some crowns above each other (Sigismondo also had been king of Hungary):



*****************

Perhaps one should consider, that around the relevant time painters occasionally showed an interest in rather fantastic hats, for instance the Florentine Apollonio di Giovanni in his illustrations to the journey of Aeneas. For Lombardy possibly this had the background, that Milan engaged in a hat industry, as Rosanne earlier speculated during her research of the straw hat of the PMB magician.

Rosanne: straw hat
http://tarotforum.net/search.php?searchid=3107262

Apollonio di Giovanni
http://tarotforum.net/search.php?searchid=3107263

http://miniature.riccardiana.firenze.sb ... icerca.asp
type "Apollonio" in the field "miniatore"

I think Marcos' point about the hat seen on the earliest Emperor cards is still valid. It's not just any hat but the particular style of hat often shown being worn by Sigismund, King of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary, as well as Emperor. Looking at the examples on this exibition site: http://www.sigismundus.hu/guide/index.php?l=en, shows the similarity of the style to that on the cards, except without the eagle.

The broad brim, flamboyantly turned up, was more in the fashion of the seventeenth century than the fifteenth. A statue of Sigismund as King of Bohemia shows a combination of the hat with a crown.

Also, courtiers and guests depicted alongside Sigismund wear the same style of headgear. It may have been a Hungarian fashion.

Chronologically, Sigismund (died 1437) seems a better bet than Wenceslaus (died 1419) for the model for the Emperor on the early cards. He helps to reduce the gap between the earliest references to trionfi cards and any posited earlier origin date.

Having said that, the illustrations of the Wenzelsbible are particularly nice examples of the art of the time.

Nice link, thanks.

Well, we don't know, which hat (and beard) Sigismund had, when he in December 1431 took the crown of Lombardy.

The eagle at the hat has only one head, the double head eagle was invented, when he became emperor (1433). The beard is unusually short ... perhaps Sigismund took in consideration, that beards weren't sooo popular in Italy and made it little shorter for this opportunity, perhaps also thinking of hot days in Italy and long hair and beard are not very practical under such conditions. The face looks younger than a man of 63 years (1368-1437).



A crown is carried by a page (?).