Sola Busca

catboxer · 10-05-2002

There has been some talk about this deck lately, and I thought it deserved a thread of its own. The Sola Busca is a 78-card deck, but it's not a tarot. The "Il Matto" (Fool) card is somewhat conventional, but after that there are no trumps as we know them. Cards I-XXI are all pictures of warriors with names like Panfilio, Postumio, Mario, etc.

These cards have gained attention here recently because the pips are illustrated with scenes, and this is the only deck so constituted prior to Pamela Coleman Smith's Rider-Waite pictures in 1909. Smith used some of the pictures from the Sola Busca, such as the ten of swords, as models for her work.

Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the original cards is no longer known. They were in the possession of the Sola Busca family of Milan when they were featured in a book, "Early Italian Engravings," in 1938. Since then both the family and the cards have vanished.

These cards were produced for an aristocratic clientele. The artwork is skilfully rendered and the technique sophisticated. They were made in the late 15th century in northern Italy, but no one knows exactly where. They were printed from engravings, then hand colored later. They would have been very expensive. Some of the pictures are gruesome; probably the most famous is the three batons, which shows the decapitated head of a cherub transfixed by the three batons, and the lips closed by a metal ring.

This was obviously a device for gaming (tarocchi). Our only access to the cards today is through the photographs in the book which is by A.M. Hind. The cards are currently available through Lo Scarabeo, but who knows for how long?

(Catboxer)

Maan · 10-05-2002

Thanks for the info Catboxer!

My tarot knowledge had a big void on the history of the cards!
Hmmm lo scarabeo you wrote?
Will this become number 25 of my collection? I have not one historcal deck that's a good reason to order not?

**raeanne** · 11-05-2002

Hi all,
US Games also publishes a Sola Busca deck. This is a very strange deck! I have not spent much time with it. I don't connect with it very well so far. I have found that some decks take time for me to connect with so I will continue to look at these cards from time to time. There does seem to be a bit of a mystery about their history.

**Cerulean** · 08-06-2003

to my studies...Sola Busca or Illuminating Ancient Tarots. Giordano Berti calls it the "Warrior's Tarot" in the book by Sofia Di Vincenzo. Tea's Tomb shows cards and has links to the introduction of the book in the book/deck set:

http://sword.lightspeed.bc.ca/hilander/

The book's introduction by Giordano Berti is interesting and I really agree with most of his opinions...my bias, though. I agree with Berti that the 19th century card reproduction--if that what he is discussing---does not seem like Cosme Tura's work*.

I like Cosme Tura's work in context of Ferarra's Schifania frescos and his odd Madonnas, etc.. I see allusions to the Gothic style, but the expressions on the faces of the cards seem different from the Tura murals and other paintings. I see a lot of humor in the Sola Busca cards.

I like the 1996 Tarot of Maria Matteo Boiardo seen at Mark Filpas pasteboard Masquerade. To me, the 1996 reproduction is closer to Tura and unlike the 19th century reproduction Sola Busca.

http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Ma...s/boiardo.html

It's a little strange about the allusion to Maria Matteo Boiardo in the back of the book and the triumph poem. It's hard to find more than brief notes in English about his construction of the human passions poem into a gaming suit. Many of the English texts available now about Boiardo aren't about this poem. But I'm still reading and learning about him.

Maybe one could see the minors of the "Warrior Tarot" as a further joke about knights from the Round Table gone awry.

Mari H.

*Although it's a little difficult to know if all of Berti's points were translated correctly. A sentence of Berti's that reads "the so-called tarot cards attributed to Alessandro Sforza, in reality attributed to Duke Borso, or one of his sons," runs counter to other sources. Historians citing quotations of the Pope noted Duke Borso's unusual celibacy. In those times, many Italian families, including the D'Este, acknowledged practically all illegimate offspring. I know of one historian supposedly researching the Modena archives who corrected fictionalized and other mistakes in attributions of daughters to Borso. Borso's heir switched from a nephew (Niccolo di Leonello) to Ercole through interesting family circumstances. Darn, another point to research..
.

falconwing · 08-06-2003

...thanks for giving so much useful information on this "weird" deck. I have received it from Magusbook.com some days ago and have to admit I looked through it once, couldn't connect with it at all and just put it back into the box....I do like the idea of something like a "Warrior Deck" but hm...forgive my ignorance, I just don't know how to really _read_ with these cards...seems, it's not "my" deck...

Falconwing

**Cerulean** · 09-06-2003

I checked through the afterward by Marisa Chiesa and wanted to mention a guess from my partial translations and small study of Matteo Maria Boiardo. My guess is they are referring to a gaming structure they developed after reading MM Boiardo's poem. They are using either the Sola Busca or a Piedmontese deck to play with a gaming structure suggested by the allegorical tarocchi poem---but you have to read this closely. If you were unfamiliar with Maria Matteo Boiardo, you'd think the actual poem contents and the cards of the Sola Busca were very similar.
The Sola Busca cards has different characters and suits.
The Tarocchi poem of Matteo Maria Boiardo and the 1996 tarot deck reproduction agrees with sources such as Gertrude Moakly and the often cited 1888-99 studies by Rudolph Renier on Boiardo's work. The poem is about human passions and names characters from the Bible and Greek mythology, but the names on the Sola Busca differs from the Tarocchi poem.
My example is the Queens.

MM Boiardo queens:

Suit of Love Queen-Venus (Greek)
Suit of Hope Queen-Judith (Bible)
Suit of Jealousy Queen-Juno (Greek)
Suit of Fear Queen-Andromeda (Greek)

Sola Busca Queens:
Queen of Pentacles-Elena
Queen of Chalices-Polisena
Queen of Swords-Olinepia
Queen of Wands-unnamed
I am going by what is written or painted on the card.

The book is of value to me because of the Berti text, which I will share with a study group. Berti suggested the 'unscholarly work' would raise questions, which is fine. I already have small questions and perhaps after further research, I can tell how Marisa Chiesa reached her conclusions or if Berti is misquoted or is right about Borso D'Este having sons.
The Ferrara text in Berti's introduction is of most interest to me and his bibliography. The bibliography of Sofia Di Vincenzo suggests reading of 'Osho Zen' style, alchemists, Oswald Wirth and references as early as 1912.
This to me is a contrast, as I'm trying to trace more information about Boiardo and D'Este family from scholars that have citations that go back to 1475 from archives of Ferarra, Modena and Rome. Dukes and Poets by Edmund Gardner is one source. He is often referenced by contemporary Boiardo scholars such as Jo Ann Cavallo and Charles Stanley Ross
Best wishes,
Mari H.

**WolfSpirit** · 16-06-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by catboxer
Some of the pictures are gruesome; probably the most famous is the three batons, which shows the decapitated head of a cherub transfixed by the three batons, and the lips closed by a metal ring.

This unsettling card can be seen here at aeclectic in the deck section - it is the Lo Scarabeo edition.
The VIII card has a man holding a baby in a fire I think ? That is what it looks like to me.
Interesting deck from a historical point of view, I don't think I would find any use for it though. But thanks for all the info catboxer, I learnt a lot from your post.

DoctorArcanus · 16-04-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfSpirit

The VIII card has a man holding a baby in a fire I think ? That is what it looks like to me.

Card VIII http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards...usca-01311.jpg represents Emperor Nero (Nerone in Italian).

According to Michael J. Hurst, Nero famously blamed the fire on Christians, and tortured them to death as entertainment, being the first ruler to initiate persecution of Christians. (Tacitus wrote: "Their death was made a matter of sport; they were covered in wild beasts' skins and torn to pieces by dogs; or were fastened to crosses and set on fire in order to serve as torches in the night.") http://www.geocities.com/cartedatrio...SolaBusca.html

This is one of the few Sola Busca cards whose meaning is more or less clear to me

Marco

***Sulis*** · 17-04-2005

Here are the images you've been talking about on AT: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/sola-busca/

Love

Sulis xx

DoctorArcanus · 17-04-2005

I would like to share my interpretation of the Sola Busca deck. My goal is finding a good way to read with this deck. I like the images a lot, and I am really fascinated by the depth of the symbols and the mystery of this deck (which seems to have disappeared during the first half of the XXth century).

I really hope you all curious tarotists to share your ideas about how to read with this deck.

I will start by writing down how I connect Sola Busca trumps and Major Arcana. About many cards, I follow the suggestions of Michael J. Hurst http://www.geocities.com/cartedatrio...SolaBusca.html

00 Fool - O MATO ("matto" means "fool" in Italian)
01 Magician - I PANFILIO (numbers matching and figures compatible)
02 High Priestess - XI TULIO (for the connection between Marcus Tullius Cicero and the Art of Memory)
03 Empress - (*)
04 Emperor - XVIIII SABINO (Sabino is the most regal of the crowned figures)
05 Hierophant - XV METELO (as suggested by Hurst)
06 Lovers - VI SESTO (numbers matching and figures compatible)
07 Chariot - VII DEOTAURO (numbers matching and figures compatible)
08 Strength - XIIII BOCHO (represents a giant warrior)
09 Hermit - XVIII LENTULO (as suggested by Hurst)
10 Wheel Of Fortune - X VENTURIO ("ventura" means "fortune")
11 Justice - V CATULO (as suggested by Hurst)
12 Hanged Man - IIII MARIO (because of his strange -almost suspended- position)
13 Death - II POSTUMIO (as suggested by Hurst)
14 Temperance - III LENPIO (for the presence of a water bowl)
15 Devil - VIII NERONE (for the presence of flames)
16 Tower - XX NENBROTO (as suggested by Hurst)
17 Star - XIII CATONE (a star is present on the card)
18 Moon - XII CARBONE (the moon is present on the card)
19 Sun - XVI OLIVO (the sun is present on the card)
20 Judgment - XVII IPEO (as suggested by Hurst)
21 Universe - XXI NABUCHODENASOR (numbers matching and figures compatible)

(*) The remaining trump card, VIIII FALCO, represents a kneeling king. I could not imagine a way of connecting this card to the Empress. I interpret FALCO to represent Humility and/or Faith in Higher Principles.

Marco

catboxer Citizen Join Date: 23 Mar 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 374	Sola Busca There has been some talk about this deck lately, and I thought it deserved a thread of its own. The Sola Busca is a 78-card deck, but it's not a tarot. The "Il Matto" (Fool) card is somewhat conventional, but after that there are no trumps as we know them. Cards I-XXI are all pictures of warriors with names like Panfilio, Postumio, Mario, etc. These cards have gained attention here recently because the pips are illustrated with scenes, and this is the only deck so constituted prior to Pamela Coleman Smith's Rider-Waite pictures in 1909. Smith used some of the pictures from the Sola Busca, such as the ten of swords, as models for her work. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the original cards is no longer known. They were in the possession of the Sola Busca family of Milan when they were featured in a book, "Early Italian Engravings," in 1938. Since then both the family and the cards have vanished. These cards were produced for an aristocratic clientele. The artwork is skilfully rendered and the technique sophisticated. They were made in the late 15th century in northern Italy, but no one knows exactly where. They were printed from engravings, then hand colored later. They would have been very expensive. Some of the pictures are gruesome; probably the most famous is the three batons, which shows the decapitated head of a cherub transfixed by the three batons, and the lips closed by a metal ring. This was obviously a device for gaming (tarocchi). Our only access to the cards today is through the photographs in the book which is by A.M. Hind. The cards are currently available through Lo Scarabeo, but who knows for how long? (Catboxer) __________________ Dave B

10-05-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #1

raeanne Citizen Join Date: 09 Aug 2001 Posts: 1,781	Hi all, US Games also publishes a Sola Busca deck. This is a very strange deck! I have not spent much time with it. I don't connect with it very well so far. I have found that some decks take time for me to connect with so I will continue to look at these cards from time to time. There does seem to be a bit of a mystery about their history. __________________ Raeanne - "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is becuase he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away" Thoreau

11-05-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #3

Cerulean Repose in a Eve of Gold... Join Date: 26 Apr 2002 Location: Calif., USA Posts: 9,338	Hideous in some ways, but connected to my studies...Sola Busca or Illuminating Ancient Tarots. Giordano Berti calls it the "Warrior's Tarot" in the book by Sofia Di Vincenzo. Tea's Tomb shows cards and has links to the introduction of the book in the book/deck set: http://sword.lightspeed.bc.ca/hilander/ The book's introduction by Giordano Berti is interesting and I really agree with most of his opinions...my bias, though. I agree with Berti that the 19th century card reproduction--if that what he is discussing---does not seem like Cosme Tura's work. I like Cosme Tura's work in context of Ferarra's Schifania frescos and his odd Madonnas, etc.. I see allusions to the Gothic style, but the expressions on the faces of the cards seem different from the Tura murals and other paintings. I see a lot of humor in the Sola Busca cards. I like the 1996 Tarot of Maria Matteo Boiardo seen at Mark Filpas pasteboard Masquerade. To me, the 1996 reproduction is closer to Tura and unlike the 19th century reproduction Sola Busca. http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Ma...s/boiardo.html It's a little strange about the allusion to Maria Matteo Boiardo in the back of the book and the triumph poem. It's hard to find more than brief notes in English about his construction of the human passions poem into a gaming suit. Many of the English texts available now about Boiardo aren't about this poem. But I'm still reading and learning about him. Maybe one could see the minors of the "Warrior Tarot" as a further joke about knights from the Round Table gone awry. Mari H. Although it's a little difficult to know if all of Berti's points were translated correctly. A sentence of Berti's that reads "the so-called tarot cards attributed to Alessandro Sforza, in reality attributed to Duke Borso, or one of his sons," runs counter to other sources. Historians citing quotations of the Pope noted Duke Borso's unusual celibacy. In those times, many Italian families, including the D'Este, acknowledged practically all illegimate offspring. I know of one historian supposedly researching the Modena archives who corrected fictionalized and other mistakes in attributions of daughters to Borso. Borso's heir switched from a nephew (Niccolo di Leonello) to Ercole through interesting family circumstances. Darn, another point to research.. . __________________ Still, cerulean surges... where, as sunset lingers Eve with golden fingers... Hector A. Stuart South Sea Dreamer, 1886 Last edited by Cerulean; 08-06-2003 at 13:26.

08-06-2003	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #4

falconwing Resident Join Date: 14 May 2003 Location: Germany Posts: 66	Interesting... ...thanks for giving so much useful information on this "weird" deck. I have received it from Magusbook.com some days ago and have to admit I looked through it once, couldn't connect with it at all and just put it back into the box....I do like the idea of something like a "Warrior Deck" but hm...forgive my ignorance, I just don't know how to really _read_ with these cards...seems, it's not "my" deck... Falconwing

08-06-2003	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #5

Cerulean Repose in a Eve of Gold... Join Date: 26 Apr 2002 Location: Calif., USA Posts: 9,338	Boiardo mentions? I checked through the afterward by Marisa Chiesa and wanted to mention a guess from my partial translations and small study of Matteo Maria Boiardo. My guess is they are referring to a gaming structure they developed after reading MM Boiardo's poem. They are using either the Sola Busca or a Piedmontese deck to play with a gaming structure suggested by the allegorical tarocchi poem---but you have to read this closely. If you were unfamiliar with Maria Matteo Boiardo, you'd think the actual poem contents and the cards of the Sola Busca were very similar. The Sola Busca cards has different characters and suits. The Tarocchi poem of Matteo Maria Boiardo and the 1996 tarot deck reproduction agrees with sources such as Gertrude Moakly and the often cited 1888-99 studies by Rudolph Renier on Boiardo's work. The poem is about human passions and names characters from the Bible and Greek mythology, but the names on the Sola Busca differs from the Tarocchi poem. My example is the Queens. MM Boiardo queens: Suit of Love Queen-Venus (Greek) Suit of Hope Queen-Judith (Bible) Suit of Jealousy Queen-Juno (Greek) Suit of Fear Queen-Andromeda (Greek) Sola Busca Queens: Queen of Pentacles-Elena Queen of Chalices-Polisena Queen of Swords-Olinepia Queen of Wands-unnamed I am going by what is written or painted on the card. The book is of value to me because of the Berti text, which I will share with a study group. Berti suggested the 'unscholarly work' would raise questions, which is fine. I already have small questions and perhaps after further research, I can tell how Marisa Chiesa reached her conclusions or if Berti is misquoted or is right about Borso D'Este having sons. The Ferrara text in Berti's introduction is of most interest to me and his bibliography. The bibliography of Sofia Di Vincenzo suggests reading of 'Osho Zen' style, alchemists, Oswald Wirth and references as early as 1912. This to me is a contrast, as I'm trying to trace more information about Boiardo and D'Este family from scholars that have citations that go back to 1475 from archives of Ferarra, Modena and Rome. Dukes and Poets by Edmund Gardner is one source. He is often referenced by contemporary Boiardo scholars such as Jo Ann Cavallo and Charles Stanley Ross Best wishes, Mari H. __________________ Still, cerulean surges... where, as sunset lingers Eve with golden fingers... Hector A. Stuart South Sea Dreamer, 1886 Last edited by Cerulean; 09-06-2003 at 08:41.

09-06-2003	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #6

Maan Citizen Join Date: 05 Aug 2001 Location: Netherlands Posts: 2,053	Thanks for the info Catboxer! My tarot knowledge had a big void on the history of the cards! Hmmm lo scarabeo you wrote? Will this become number 25 of my collection? I have not one historcal deck that's a good reason to order not?

10-05-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #2

*Sulis* believer in magic Moderator Join Date: 03 Feb 2002 Location: Nottingham UK Posts: 18,005	Here are the images you've been talking about on AT: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/sola-busca/ Love Sulis xx __________________ 'Be excellent to each other' - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. 'the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it' - Roald Dahl 'Immerse your soul in love' - Radiohead

17-04-2005	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #9

DoctorArcanus Citizen Join Date: 10 Apr 2005 Location: Italy Posts: 553	The mysteries of Sola Busca: Major Arcana I would like to share my interpretation of the Sola Busca deck. My goal is finding a good way to read with this deck. I like the images a lot, and I am really fascinated by the depth of the symbols and the mystery of this deck (which seems to have disappeared during the first half of the XXth century). I really hope you all curious tarotists to share your ideas about how to read with this deck. I will start by writing down how I connect Sola Busca trumps and Major Arcana. About many cards, I follow the suggestions of Michael J. Hurst http://www.geocities.com/cartedatrio...SolaBusca.html 00 Fool - O MATO ("matto" means "fool" in Italian) 01 Magician - I PANFILIO (numbers matching and figures compatible) 02 High Priestess - XI TULIO (for the connection between Marcus Tullius Cicero and the Art of Memory) 03 Empress - () 04 Emperor - XVIIII SABINO (Sabino is the most regal of the crowned figures) 05 Hierophant - XV METELO (as suggested by Hurst) 06 Lovers - VI SESTO (numbers matching and figures compatible) 07 Chariot - VII DEOTAURO (numbers matching and figures compatible) 08 Strength - XIIII BOCHO (represents a giant warrior) 09 Hermit - XVIII LENTULO (as suggested by Hurst) 10 Wheel Of Fortune - X VENTURIO ("ventura" means "fortune") 11 Justice - V CATULO (as suggested by Hurst) 12 Hanged Man - IIII MARIO (because of his strange -almost suspended- position) 13 Death - II POSTUMIO (as suggested by Hurst) 14 Temperance - III LENPIO (for the presence of a water bowl) 15 Devil - VIII NERONE (for the presence of flames) 16 Tower - XX NENBROTO (as suggested by Hurst) 17 Star - XIII CATONE (a star is present on the card) 18 Moon - XII CARBONE (the moon is present on the card) 19 Sun - XVI OLIVO (the sun is present on the card) 20 Judgment - XVII IPEO (as suggested by Hurst) 21 Universe - XXI NABUCHODENASOR (numbers matching and figures compatible) () The remaining trump card, VIIII FALCO, represents a kneeling king. I could not imagine a way of connecting this card to the Empress. I interpret FALCO to represent Humility and/or Faith in Higher Principles. Marco __________________ Et ecce equus albus et qui sedebat super illum habebat arcum - And behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow.

17-04-2005	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #10

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