Visconti Card on Auction at Christie's

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jeseryn	17 Mar 2005
Thought it was interesting.. One of the Visconti deck paintings on sale at Christie's Auction house in NYC today. US dollar estimate is 36-46k. Check it out. Be sure and click on the photo of the card. The detail is amazing and it's so powerful and beautiful. Not many opportunities to get such a clear look. Just go to Christie's and put tarot in the keyword search. Details: Lot Title Carte de Tarot: La Reine des Deniers Estimate 25,000 - 35,000 Euros Lot Description Maître du Tarot Visconti (milieu du 15ème siècle) Carte de Tarot: La Reine des Deniers gouache rehaussé d'or sur carton, guilloché, certains contours incisés 168 x 83 mm. Cette carte de Tarot est proche en style d'un jeu commandé par Filippo Maria Visconti, troisième duc de Milan (1392-1447). Visconti donna à son secrétaire Marziano da Tortona 1,500 scudi pour commander un jeu de Tarot peint avec des images de dieux et d'animaux. Celui-ci n'est pas aujourd'hui identifié, mais des cartes comportant le monogramme ou le symbole des Visconti sont à Yale University à New Haven et au British Museum à Londres. Le Mâitre du Tarot Visconti a quelquefois été identifié avec Bonifacio Bembo (actif 1447-78), un artiste travaillant à Milan avec les Sforza. Des cartes attribuées à cet artiste sont à l'Accademia Carrara à Bergame, à la Pierpont Morgan Library à New York, à la Brera à Milan et à Yale (G. Alberto Dell'Acqua, I Visconti a Milano, Milan, 1977, figs. 341-6).

Kissa	17 Mar 2005
Hi! thanks for the great info! I am awfully lazy though and even if it could probably be found quite easily with my "google" new best friend, I was wondering if you could post a link here... Considering the price they ask for it, it shouldn't be considered advertising by our lovely moderators, right? who here on ATF could afford this??? come on, raise your hand... Kissa

April	17 Mar 2005
I already have a couple at home. Doesn't everybody? Oh no, that was just a dream I had last night. The website is christies.com. They don't have a description in English anywhere, do they? Thanks for the info, Jeseryn! Peace, April

jeseryn	17 Mar 2005
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LotDetail.asp?sid=&intObjectID=4454633&SE=CMWCAT04+167734+493615531+&QR=M+1+0+Aqc0000900+163103++Aqc0000900+&entry=tarot&T=Lot&SU=1&RQ=False&AN=1 Hope this works! Link to card art image directly: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/LotFinderImages/D44546/D4454633r.jpg

jeseryn	17 Mar 2005
Translation (Courtesy of AltaVista) The Queen of the Sums of money (Queen of Pentacles) This chart of Tarot is close in style to a play ordered by Filippo Maria Visconti, third duke of Milan (1392-1447). Visconti gave to its secretary Marziano da Tortona 1,500 scudi to order a play of Tarot painted with images of gods and animals. This one is not identified today, but of the charts comprising the monogram or the symbol of Visconti are in Yale University in New Haven and British Museum in London. Mâitre of the Visconti Tarot was sometimes identified with Bonifacio Bembo (credit 1447-78), an artist working in Milan with Sforza. Charts allotted to this artist are in Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, in Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, Brera in Milan and Yale (G Alberto Dell' Acqua, I Visconti has Milano, Milan, 1977, figs. 341-6).

jeseryn	17 Mar 2005
The color and detail is gorgeous and it's so small! The color in this wipes the floor with the published deck. I can't understand why they can't duplicate original artwork in the true colors. Maybe because they're "game" companies that publish?

Cerulean	17 Mar 2005
http://www.tarotpassages.com/artcat-so.htm For five to ten dollars more than a copy of a copy of a Visconti available through U.S. Games, you can buy this catalogue here: http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?y=0&kn=brera+tarocchi&x=0 If someone wants a rather beautiful reproduction of Viscontis, this thread covers a few discussions: Felicity's Visconti page among other discussions is listed in this thread- http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=14082 The Dal Negro version links (all cards) and recommendations as per a discussion of different Visconti versions: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=20172&page=3&pp=20&highlight=visconti+dal+negro Best wishes, Cerulean

The Visconti Card on Auction at Christie's thread was originally posted on 17 Mar 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.