Jack of Spades
Printmaker:
Unknown
Publisher:
Unknown
A hand-coloured woodcut on pasteboard laid down on a large piece of mount board (height 407mm x 277mm) with six other cards from the same pack. A partial playing card which has been cut down along the upper edge. A male figure (head cut off by the loss along the upper edge), facing right and wearing a short tunic with ruff-like collar around his neck and a long sack or bag sleeve on his right arm which holds a pike or halberd. The imposts below an archway (cut off here but seen in P.14638-R(4), the Jack of Diamonds) are visible at upper left and right. Although only the lower half of the suit marker is visible at upper right, the shape most closely matches Spades ('Piques'). A printed inscription along the right edge in Old French: 'Sanson', which probably relates to the biblical name, Sampson or Samson, the character from the Old Testament. The name 'Sanson' or Samson follows the trait unique to French playing cards of associating the face cards with historical or mythical personages, but does not relate to the name usually associated with the Jack of Spades (Hogier). Prior to 1613, the Jack of Clubs was associated with the name Judas Maccabeus, and so it is possible that the Jack of Spades may also have been associated originally with a name other than Hogier. The style of the designs, especially in the facial features and hair, is very similar to those made by Jehan Faucil in Rouen in France during the 16th century. Faucil was active there c.1540-c.1560. See uncut and uncoloured sheets in the British Museum collection: 1851,0208.13-18. A handwritten inscription in graphite at lower right on the recto of the mount board: 'From the Brent Eleigh Library: found / shut up between the leaves of a book. / 1891'. Another inscription in graphite in a different hand (probably Eric Chamberlain, Assistant Keeper of Prints, 1962-1975) on the verso of the mount board: 'French / ?early 16th century'.
Unknown
by unknown
16th Century
Circa
1540
-
Circa
1560
Height 90mm x width 73mm
Accession number: P.14638-R(3)
Primary reference Number: 225218
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) "Jack of Spades" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/225218 Accessed: 2024-12-23 12:18:54
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/225218
|title=Jack of Spades
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 12:18:54|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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