Re: The Grand Design of Francesco Sforza
11The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Eden Phillpotts
Eden Phillpotts
In the case, that Trionfi cards were event decks (which they at some times might have been, but likely not always), a use of the income for social purposes can't be excluded. But I would doubt, that this was always the case, and especially not for the common market.Lorredan wrote: In fact I think Sforza had this idea at the beginning of the Ambrosian Republic and goes to the idea that these handpainted cards were taken from an existing deck of cards and made to be non -gambling sets to sell and the money going to the Ambrose fund - a non mercantile type of Bank.
Well, if one made an event deck, then there could be just only one deck ... for the bride for instance, if the event was a marriage. But naturally there could be also one very elegant deck, some more rather elegant (for the rich participants) and a bigger number of cheaper decks (for the common public). Or just a local playing card designer discovered the good opportunity to sell something and prepared a few decks for this opportunity. Markets and great festivities mobilize the local business world to have some profit inside the festivities ... that was likely always so.Lorredan wrote:Aye, you are right Huck.
I cannot see these cards been sold. Maybe Sforza bought them back himself- that was not unusual. It was a great event through the laying of the foundation stone. Typical of the times.They said they were poor- but these events must have been costly. I do wonder what the miniatures were that were sold in 1454, 1456... and I can believe that sets of cards were sold, maybe copies and embellished. Maybe that is what Cary Yale sheet types were all about; each printer made his own variety and that is why we cannot see uniformity? It was only over three days every two years- not too much of a burden in one sense.
The Feast of Forgiveness at least makes sense for the Hanged Man Card- I might add this feast was also in Siena at an earlier date- also in other City states- where the sale of indulgences were considered very poor form.Hence my belief that the Bateleur was selling Indulgences in those Tarot de Marseille-ish cards. Milan is the only City where it is a big event- then and now. It seems it was a way Popes could get the City to raise money without handing out money themselves. The ultimate fund raiser eh? The cards of the Visconti suit the idea of the Feast and Hospital in Milan and elevating morality and uplifting the spirits. It did not stop the gambling- the big spenders just hopped across to Venice........
~Lorredan
Well maybe we have a little clue.Unluckily we have not enough confirmation for this behavior.