Playing Cards Made by: Naila al-Zarqa’ Historical Basis: - Playing cards were introduced to the Islamic lands from China sometime before the 13th century. Chinese paper playing cards used designs based on their paper money: , strings of coins, myriads of strings, and tens of myriads. Given the visual similitude with the Islamic suits of coins, polo sticks, scimitars, and , it is likely (but unproven due to lack of evidence) that the Islamic suits evolved from the Chinese suits. Playing cards were made in Mamluk Egypt as early as the 12th century. Fragments believed to be from playing cards exist from the 13th century (the de Unger fragment is one of the most notable) but the only known complete deck is from the 15th century and is known as the Topkapi deck as it was found in the Topkapi palace although it is likely it was made in Mamluk Egypt. Although the deck is considered complete, the visual styles of the cards indicate that it contains replacement cards from at least 2 other decks. - Extant Islamic playing cards are much larger than modern playing cards, with dimensions of approximately 3.5” x 10”. - Cards were used in the game known as (Persia, ) or Kanjifah (Arabic). In Spain, “Moorish-styled” cards were used for a game called naips which derives from the word na’ib, the name of one of the court cards in the Islamic deck. - I chose to make 4 cards, 1 from each suit. - 4 of cups: based on the de Unger fragment which scholars speculate could be ½ of the 4 of cups or ¼ of the 7, 8, or 9 of cups. The colors are very faded so I took a guess at what they originally were.

[https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B15SAMYZtejMdXU3LWh1UzRiZU0/view] - # of polo sticks: design elements based on the Topkapi deck, resized to fit the size of a modern (2.5” x 3.5”) as specified in the competition rules.

[https://www.wopc.co.uk/egypt/mamluk] - Malik of scimitars: resized design elements based on the Topkapi deck. I combined the symbol for malik with the design of the of scimitars as I felt that was a better depiction of a scimitar (the one on the malik card looks more like a weird squiggle).

[https://www.wopc.co.uk/egypt/mamluk] - 2 of coins: design elements based on a 13th century Qur’an. Decorative elements from the Topkapi deck are the same style as used in illuminations in Qur’ans of the period. It is logical that other decks would use other decorative elements common in Qur’anic illuminations.

[https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447781] Materials: - Paper: - Introduced to the Islamic lands in the 8th century and generally made from some combination of hemp and linen - Italian-made paper was imported to Mamluk Egypt and could have been used for playing cards - Multiple layers (number and type not specified in the available resources) - I used hemp paper made in the traditional Islamic style for the face and back of the card. Since it is a lightweight and not very stiff, I used a thicker stiffer paper for the core of the card. - Paint: - The type of paint used for cards is not specified. The type of paint used for manuscript illumination from the same period is noted as “opaque watercolor”. I used a modern acrylic-based gouache which is a close approximation. - Gilding: - I chose to use a faux gold instead of real gold as I started doing gilding fairly recently and am not very good yet. Faux gold is much cheaper and better to practice with. I used a modern sizing. - Shell gold was also used for illuminated manuscripts. In the 13th century Qur’an I used as a basis for the 2 of coins, there is a notable difference in the color of different areas of gold. While this effect can be achieved by using different purities of gold leaf, it appeared to me to be a mix of gold leaf and shell gold. I used a faux shell gold because that is what I had available. - Glue: - Several kinds of glue are mentioned in the extant manuscripts relating to bookbinding. Glue could be made from snails, fish, hide scraps, or starch from wheat or asphodel. I used wheat starch for this because I use it for bookbinding and have a ready supply and the experience to use it.

Techniques and Procedures: Very limited information available regarding the structure of the cards or the procedures used to make them so I made some logical deductions based on techniques used in bookbinding and manuscript illumination. The process I used to make each card: 1. Sketch the design and trace it onto the face layer of paper. 2. Apply a thin layer of paste to the core layer of paper and gently attach the face layer. Smooth out any wrinkles and place in a press to dry. This is the same method used for making pasteboard for bookbinding except that generally multiple layers are glued at a time. I chose to do one at a time to ensure the layers are smooth. 3. Apply the gilding. 4. Add colors. 5. Outline with black ink. 6. Repeat step 2 for the back layer.

Resources: - Mamluk Playing Cards: - https://www.wopc.co.uk/egypt/mamluk ​ - https://ladyheatherhall.com/2016/05/15/mamluk-playing-cards-muluk-wan uwwab-and-theories-of-playing-card-origins/ - http://mamluk.spiorad.net/topkapi.htm - http://mamluk.spiorad.net/history.htm - https://tarot-heritage.com/2019/04/05/trzes-mamluk-deck-the-granddaddy- of-european-playing-cards/ - Ganjifa Cards: - https://blog.sterlingholidays.com/ganjifa-medieval-indias-favourite-card-ga me/ - https://deccanviews.wordpress.com/2019/04/16/ganjifa-playing-cards-from -early-medieval-times/ - Islamic Bookbinding and Illumination - Mediaeval Arabic Bookmaking… by Martin Levey - Techniques of Islamic Bookbinding by Karen Scheper - Materials and Techniques of Islamic Manuscripts by Penley Knipe, Katherine Eremin, Marc Walton, Agnese Babini, and Georgina Rayner