8 of Tethers, from The Cloisters Playing Cards
Unknown Artist
ca. 1475–80
Medium
Paper (four layers of pasteboard) with pen and ink, opaque paint, glazes, and applied silver and gold
Dimensions
5 3/16 × 2 3/4 in. (13.2 × 7 cm)
Classification
Miscellaneous-Paper
Culture
South Netherlandish
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1983
Accession Number
1983.515.19
Tags
About this artwork
This playing card belongs to the only known complete deck of illuminated fifteenth-century playing cards, one of the Metropolitan Museum's most extraordinary holdings. Created in the South Netherlands around 1475-80, the Cloisters set comprises fifty-two cards with suit symbols drawn from hunting equipment: horns, dog collars, tethers, and game nooses. This 8 of Tethers demonstrates the remarkable craftsmanship invested in these luxury objects. The card's construction involves four layers of pas...