Cavalcades / Lyons Mounted Courts

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Color test for fifteenth century french mounted playing cards

This is a beautiful pattern from the late 15th century, and I admit that I have been chomping at the bit to produce it sometime.
In the 19th century a property owner in Lyons found a carved  fruit wood chest on his property. Closer inspection revealed that the box was up cycled from outdated playing card xylograph plates from the late 15th century. This is one of those plates.
Fragments of mounted Lyons courts from other manufacturers has also surfaced, suggesting this style may have been in vogue for some time.
As full as the plate appears, assembling a pack from it is complex.
– There are four knaves/jacks, and they are all missing their left sides.
– Only three kings are complete, most are missing a side or bottom
– Few color fragments survive from this time, so all color is a guess
– All eight queens are in tact enough to use. Trouble is deciding which four to settle on; many have a flogger, and all are remarkable.

dated 1475-1499.

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10535994m.r=carte%20a%20jouer

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10526065f.r=jeu%20de%20cartes

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10526065f.r=jeu%20de%20cartes

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