Cesar King of Diamonds
Printmaker: Gatteaux, Nicolas Marie
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 King, a full-length figure, holds a sceptre surmounted with a fleur-de-lis in his left hand. A scene within his costume depicts the head of a cockerel, a reference to the 'gallic rooster' an emblem of France. In earlier versions of this court card, the animal depicted was the roman eagle, in reference to Ceasar's roman origins. Another animal emblem is seen on the costume of the Queen of Spades. A printed title or name at upper right: 'CESAR'. This name for the King of Diamonds (a reference to the Roman Emperor, Caesar) 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.
Bequeathed by Spencer George Perceval, 1923
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1923) by Perceval, Spencer George
19th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1816
Height 82mm x width 53mm
Accession number: P.14628-R(27)
Primary reference Number: 224731
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Cesar" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/224731 Accessed: 2024-12-23 12:40:28
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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/224731
|title=Cesar
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 12:40:28|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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