IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 224719 accession number: P.14628-R(15) DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Wednesday 5 September 2018 updated: Monday 2 October 2023 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: From a complete pack of 52 playing-cards; hand-coloured woodcut on white laid paper with watermarked fleur-de-lis. A single image, hand-coloured in black, red, yellow, dark blue and lighter blue inks. The Queen, a full-length figure, stands in profile facing left and holds a red flower with three petals in her right hand, which is probably a lily representing the fleur-de-lis, national flower of France. A scene within her costume depicts the head of an animal, possibly another emblem relating to France and which is comparable to the head of the cockerel or Gallic rooster ('le coq gaulois') seen on the King of Diamonds. A printed title or name at upper right: 'PALLAS'. This name for the Queen of Spades (presumably a reference to Pallas Athene of Greek mythology) is unique to French playing cards where the court cards are associated with historical or mythical characters. The single image pattern of the court cards was designed by engraver and sculptor, Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux (1751-1832) in 1813, whose name can be found at the centre of the shield on the Jack of Clubs. His designs were based on earlier versions of the so-called Paris pattern, which became the official French pattern in 1813. The verso is blank. The pack can be dated through reference to the Jack of Clubs, which is printed with the name for French excise administration (Administration des Contributions Indirectes) and a date of 1816. From the 19th century until 1945, the appearance of playing cards for domestic consumption was regulated by the French government and all cards were produced on watermarked paper made by the state to show payment of the stamp tax. title: playing card LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints creditline: Bequeathed by Spencer George Perceval, 1923 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/224719 TECHNIQUES ---------- hand colouring TECHNIQUES ---------- woodcut CATEGORIES ------ category: print DATING ------ creation date: 1816 - 1816 creation date earliest: 1816 creation date latest: 1816 culture: 19th Century CREATORS -------- maker: Gatteaux, Nicolas Marie