Knowing my penchant for poker, my son gave me some playing cards he had found at a thrift store. The box was decorated with a reversed-out Chinese print and some calligraphy, and read “Characters in Water Margin.” This link shows details of the box and the cards. Very nice, although the size of the cards suggest they were meant for either smaller hands or cut of a size to save paper costs.
Made in Shanghai, China, I was intrigued by their availability and age, and confused by the term “Characters in Water Margin.” Was the article ‘a’ between ‘in’ and ‘water’ lost in translation? I thanked him for the gift and as soon as I could, googled. “Water Margin” is a famous story in Chinese literature. The decks are readily available on ebay.
6 comments:
52 cards provide a nice opportunity for 52 images united by rank or suit, as it suits the theme and technique.
I like em. They are the kind of adventure characters that make for a delightful week of evenings.
aki
very cool!
as always
are you familiar with Xul Solar?
Famous Argentine artist (dead).
i probably mentioned Xul Solar before.
He created tarot decks as part of his approaches artistic representations.
http://www.allpaintings.org/v/Surrealism/Alejandro+Xul+Solar/Alejandro+Xul+Solar+-+12+cartas+del+Tarot+.jpg.html
aki
http://www.allpaintings.org/v/Surrealism/Alejandro+Xul+Solar/Alejandro+Xul+Solar+-+12+cartas+del+Tarot+.jpg.html
correct link
damn it cuts off the link
more general link
http://www.allpaintings.org/v/Surrealism/Alejandro+Xul+Solar/
Thanks for the link, Aki. I was not familiar with his work. I did see similarities to Miro, Klee and Kandinsky. Maybe Chagall.
There is a soft spot in my heart for this period in all of the arts.
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