Playing Card Deck
| Object Number: | 29-238-8 |
|---|---|
| Current Location: | Collections Storage |
| Culture: | Chinese |
| Provenience: | China Beijing |
| Period: | 19th Century |
| Date Made: | 1889 - 1893 |
| Early Date: | 1889 |
| Late Date: | 1893 |
| Section: | Asian |
| Materials: | Paper Ink |
| Technique: | Printed |
| Iconography: | Money Suited White Flower Old Thousand Wang Ying Water Margin Fish |
| Inscription Language: | Chinese Language |
| Length: | 6.7 cm |
| Width: | 1.7 cm |
| Credit Line: | Purchased from William Henry Wilkinson, 1903 |
| Other Number: | Wilkinson 8 - Collector Number 29-191-242.4 - Old Museum Number |
Description
"Stick cards" or Gun Pai 棍牌. This type of deck contains money cards with three suits: 1-9 of cash, 1-9 of strings (of cash) and 1-9 of myriads (of strings) (wan), and three extra court cards. One of the court cards is the white flower card with 白支 Bai Zhi (white branch) at the top. Another is the Old Thousand card with 老千 Lao Qian (Old Thousand) at the top. The third court card has 益仁 Yi Ren (increase humaneness) at the top and a portrait of Wang Ying. The 1 of strings of cash has a fish on it with 張慎 Zhang Shen written on the body identifying the manufacturer as Zhang. Pack of 120 rectangular playing cards. Backs black. Faces printed in black and sometimes also with red.
From Culin publication: "From Peking. Four packets of thirty; no jokers. Index marks vary for suit and pips. Artistic cards in cream white on a black ground. Total, 120."
Bibliography:
| [Book] Culin, Robert S. 1895. Korean Games, with Notes on the Corresponding Games of China and Japan.. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pg. 137, No. 8 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
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