Tarot de Marseille (Type I): Philippe Vachier,... - Lot 187 - Giquello

Lot 187
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Estimation :
3000 - 4000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 65 000EUR
Tarot de Marseille (Type I): Philippe Vachier,... - Lot 187 - Giquello
Tarot de Marseille (Type I): Philippe Vachier, Marseilles, 1639, woodcut, stencil colors, 78/78 cards, Latin signs, 122 x 64 mm, French legends; back: hexagon network with pattoned cross inscribed in black; on 2D: "FELIP.VACHIE / 1639 [reversed]", on 2C: "FELIP.VACHIE / A.LENSEGNE / DES.DVSROIS" (probably "A l'enseigne des deux rois"). Excellent general condition and fresh colors, some very small, barely perceptible wetness at the bottom of some cards. The most popular version of the tarot, the "Marseille" tarot remains a sought-after "standard" for its naive iconography, supposedly representing an archetype. Now dedicated to fortune-telling, these cards were once used by gamblers. Most of the known examples date from the 18th century, and the oldest ones date back to 1709 (Pierre Madenié in Dijon) and 1713 (Jean-Pierre Payen in Avignon). If Lyon is certainly the cradle of this model, Marseille takes its part especially in the second half of the XVIIIth century. Let's admit it, before 1700, the "Marseille" tarots are almost non-existent. The only one known to this day is that of Jean Noblet, made in Paris in the middle of the 17th century and kept in the BnF. Of an unusually small format, it is missing five cards. The tarot of "Felip Vachie" (read Philippe Vachier), a hitherto unknown but now attested dealer in Marseille, active from 1632 to about 1670 (he was still alive in 1668, but died in 1676, when one of his daughters married), bears the date (engraved backwards) of 1639. Everything concurs - back designs, rich range of colors - to confirm this early and exceptional date: it is the oldest known "Marseille" tarot, made in Marseille, complete and in good condition, dated moreover, a true historical monument, which informs us on the antiquity and permanence of the model. References : Thierry Depaulis, Un tarot de Marseille de 1639, Le Vieux Papier, fasc. 447, January 2023, p. 194-200 Michael Dummett, The game of tarot, London, Duckworth, 1980 ; Thierry Depaulis, Tarot, jeu et magie. Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, 1984; Stuart R. Kaplan, The Encyclopedia of tarot (II), New York, U.S. Games Systems, 1986; Thierry Depaulis, Le Tarot révélé: une histoire du tarot d'après les documents, La Tour-de-Peilz, Musée Suisse du Jeu, 2013. On the typology of "Marseilles" tarots, see Thierry Depaulis, "The 'Tarot de Marseille' - Facts and Fallacies (I)," The Playing-Card, vol. 42, no. 1, July-Sept. 2013 and no. 2, Oct-Dec. 2013.
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