King of Diamonds Marlborough and his Times
Printmaker: Unknown
A portrait of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy (1666-1732). It seems to be the case that the birth date of the Duke of Savoy (King of diamonds) has been confused with that of the Prince Eugene of Savoy (Ten of clubs), hence the incorrect date of October 18th, 1663 as seen here. The Duke of Savoy was initially on the side of the French at the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession, but later joined forces with the Austrian Habsburgs, along with his cousin, Prince Eugene of Savoy with whom he defeated the French enemy during the Battle of Turin in 1706.
From a complete pack of 52 playing-cards commemorating the victories of the Duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). Spades satirise the French and Spanish enemy, the other three suits represent scenes from the campaigns, mostly in the Netherlands, also in Spain and Belgium; the aces, court and some numeral cards are portraits or satirical or allegorical scenes.
A museum catalogue card is included with the pack and pasted with a printed cutting from a sale catalogue, which has been crossed out in graphite: 'CARDS, A Pack of 52 Curious old Engraved Cards / representing Humourous and Comical Scenes, Military / Portraits of Blucher, Wellington, etc. National Emblematic Figures etc. engraved by L. OSIANDER, scarce'. A graphite inscription written on the card below: 'Pack of 52 line-engraved cards, of historical scenes & personages relating to the War of the Spanish Succession.'. The verso is blank.
The pack of cards and catalogue card are contained inside a folded manilla envelope inscribed in ink in a calligraphic hand: 'Marlborough's Victories / A pack of 52 cards / Reproduced in _Playing Cards [of various ages and countries] / selected from the collection of Lady Charlotte Schreiber_, Vol. 1, plates / 35-38 / See also _BM Satires_, vol. II / nos. 1342-4, 1429, 1435, 1452, 1461, 1491, 1492, 1543, 1544, 1557, / 1560-5, 1576, 1585'.
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1923) by Perceval, Spencer George
18th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1715
: Another set: BM 1841,0508.4-55 is dated 1710-1725.
Sheet Height 91 mm Width 60 mm
Accession number: P.13064-R(52)
Primary reference Number: 186307
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "King of Diamonds" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/186307 Accessed: 2024-11-15 13:34:09
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/186307
|title=King of Diamonds
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-15 13:34:09|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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