Artifice
I had the privilege of spending the day at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale yesterday, studying their Visconti cards. Amazing!
I'm now trying to make sense of some of the more obscure symbols and motifs on the cards. I've figured some of them out via online research, but am not sure about others.
One in particular which I'm curious about is a symbol of a crown with 2 different types of branches passing thru it. You can see this on the clothing of the Male Page of Cups and the King of Cups, and on the clothing and horse blanket of the Male Knight of Cups:
http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432607
http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432606
http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432605
I've tracked down info on some other Visconti motifs (the serpent with a child in its mouth, the dove with a ribbon on a sunburst). But this is one I haven't found any solid explanation for.
However, PCS uses the same symbol on her Ace of Swords. I've seen the branches on that card identified as either olive and laurel, or olive and palm. The latter explanation is from the text in a Tarot app on my phone, which identifies them as representing, respectively, mercy and severity.
I see that the olive and palm branches are found in various countries' coats of arms (Malta, Venezuela, etc.).
So: Does the crown with branches on the Visconti Cups court cards represent a ruler who is capable of being both merciful and severe? That would be the meaning I'd guess at. But I'd really love to get a more authoritative explanation of why this symbol appears on the Visconti cards.
I'd also love to know if PCS got it from the Visconti deck, or from somewhere else. Anybody know anything?
I'm now trying to make sense of some of the more obscure symbols and motifs on the cards. I've figured some of them out via online research, but am not sure about others.
One in particular which I'm curious about is a symbol of a crown with 2 different types of branches passing thru it. You can see this on the clothing of the Male Page of Cups and the King of Cups, and on the clothing and horse blanket of the Male Knight of Cups:
http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432607
http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432606
http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432605
I've tracked down info on some other Visconti motifs (the serpent with a child in its mouth, the dove with a ribbon on a sunburst). But this is one I haven't found any solid explanation for.
However, PCS uses the same symbol on her Ace of Swords. I've seen the branches on that card identified as either olive and laurel, or olive and palm. The latter explanation is from the text in a Tarot app on my phone, which identifies them as representing, respectively, mercy and severity.
I see that the olive and palm branches are found in various countries' coats of arms (Malta, Venezuela, etc.).
So: Does the crown with branches on the Visconti Cups court cards represent a ruler who is capable of being both merciful and severe? That would be the meaning I'd guess at. But I'd really love to get a more authoritative explanation of why this symbol appears on the Visconti cards.
I'd also love to know if PCS got it from the Visconti deck, or from somewhere else. Anybody know anything?