Neoclassic (Ancient Tarot of Lombardy)

garmonbozia

Why do you think cigars?

I've always thought of "Il Bagattelliere" as peddlar of trinkets, since "bagatelle" roughly means "trinkets"...so could be all sorts of junk in that box.
 

Abrac

mrpants, scroll down the page you linked to and click "read more reviews." The first review by Steve Gustafson explains what he is. :)
 

mrpants

I did see his explanation, yes.
 

mrpants

@abrac, I wasn't sure if the author of the review was accurate in his description. @garmonbozia thanks for the clarification! I was unfamiliar with the root word; that makes much more sense to me now. (Aside: are you excited about maybe more Twin Peaks??)
 

Abrac

I think it's a pretty good explanation, as is garmonbozia's. But I'd add a couple of things. I agree with garmonbozia he's not so much a salesman but a peddler or hawker. In his left hand it looks like a small megaphone for calling out to people as they pass buy. He might have a horse or cart though not shown.

The Italian bagatella means "a trifle." So he's someone of little standing and might be a bit shady. His merchandise is probably cheap and not very good. It's easy to see how this image would have evolved from the earlier magician images since no doubt he's familiar with the art of trickery.

Here's a link to a long paper on the etymology of bagatella. Probably more than you'll ever want to know but has some good stuff. :)

El Bagatella.
 

mrpants

@abrac thanks for the link! I suppose I could've just searched the term, as opposed to searching for the whole deck. That's a terrific article. Actually, the site itself is amazing!