Ace of Coins: P.14632-R(4)

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Ace of Coins

Maker(s)

Printmaker: Unknown
Publisher: Clarizia, Dionisio

Entities

Playing card

Description

A hand-coloured woodcut of the symbol of the double-headed eagle (a symbol of Empire or a reference to Spain) around a printed circle containing a stamp marked 'SALERNO' and dated '7 / MAR. / 81'. Below is as a tax stamp which was in use from 1880 to 1882. The publisher's name and address in Salerno is stamped below: 'DIONISIO CLARIZIA / SALERNO / S.ANGELO D'OGLIARA'. The card is unnumbered. From an incomplete pack, 38 of 40 cards in the Neopolitan pattern, for the game of Ombre. The missing cards are the King of Clubs and the Ace of Clubs. Ombre, a card game which originated in Spain in the 16th century, uses a stripped deck where all the 8, 9 and 10 ranks are missing. Spanish suits were commonly used in southern Italy. There are only three face cards in the Spanish deck, which are King, Knight and Knave (Jack). The backs of the cards feature a design of blue chevrons around a central oval-shaped medallion containing a double-ended image of a group of buildings, presumably in Salerno, but not identified. The backs of the cards are folded over the edges of the fronts forming a border that is typical of Italian-made cards.
A very similar pack, close in date but made in Naples, is in the collection of the British Museum. See: 1875,1211.172-211. The British Museum pack features the same design on the backs of the cards but with a double-ended image of the Royal Palace in Naples.