Flemish Hunting Deck

The Flemish Hunting Deck, also known as the Cloisters set of fifty-two playing cards and Hofjaren Jachtpakket^{[dubious – discuss]} (in Dutch), is a set of fifty-two playing cards owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States. It is significant in that it is the only complete set of ordinary playing cards from the fifteenth century. Estimate ranges of manufacture are between 1470 and 1480.

The rounded-ended cards consist of suits represented by hunting equipment along with face cards which represent exaggerated fashion from the 15th century.

The cards are hand-drawn and painted on pasteboard, with highlights of gold and silver, in the contemporary technique for illuminated manuscripts.

The set was most likely made in the Southern Netherlands, in Flanders specifically. Research was conducted into the cards by Sotheby's fashion experts, looking into the details of the fashion of the face cards. The research concluded that the type of jacket and haircut, worn above the ears, was popular for royalty between 1470 and 1480. A further test of the paper and paint concluded that the cards were made between 1465 and 1485. The set was likely made for a wealthy client. Little is known about the games played using cards in the 15th century, but a most likely use would have been gambling. The cards are in very good condition, indicating they were used very little or not at all. The cards may have been manufactured with an intent to never be used conventionally.

The set of cards was up for auction at Hôtel Drouot in Paris, France, on 12 December 1978. In the auction catalogue it was mentioned as an incomplete set of tarot cards dating from the sixteenth century. This is incorrect as the deck is a complete set of playing cards. Harrie Kenter, a Dutch antiques dealer from Amsterdam paid 8,000 Dutch guilder for it, believing it to be an older object.

Kenter kept the set for some years, even cycling with it in his coat pocket through Amsterdam, which his insurance company later prohibited him from doing. Kenter determined it was best to auction off the set after only being able to show the set to others at a secure location at a bank. On 6 December 1983, the set of cards was sold at Sotheby's in London for U.S.$143,000. Kenter was transported to the auction house under a police escort. The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought the set of cards and it is now part of The Cloisters collection.

The Flemish Hunting Deck, a deck of playing cards titled Hofjaren Jachtpakket in Dutch, originated from Flanders. The set of cards is a complete regular set of playing cards, consisting of four suits with a king, queen, jack and ten pip cards. The appropriate repetition of the symbol on the card indicate its value. This deck of cards is different from cards today in that it does not include jokers and there are ones instead of the usual aces. It is the only complete set of ordinary playing cards from the fifteenth century. The suits are based on hunting items, consisting of game nooses, hound tethers, horns, and dog collars. This particular deck, due to its bright colors painted on a background of ivory, differs from most cards of its time. The four different types of suits are colored either red or blue; the color red is used for the collars and horns while the color blue is used for the tethers and nooses. The shown figures display fashion of the era, with short jackets, shortly cut hair and pointy shoes. The cards appear rounded on the ends and the backs are not painted. The size of the cards are about four inches by two inches wide. Due to the size remaining the same throughout the different types of cards, the symbols intrude on the border of some of the cards.

There are two different watermarks that can be identified throughout these cards. One of the identified watermarks on the card appears with a Gothic style "p", capped with an ornament, cropped on the edge of the sheets. The fork-tailed "p" can be found in cards such as the 2 of Nooses and the 2 of Dog Collars surrounded by a four-leaf clover shape. The other watermark contains the letters "iado" with the symbolism of a shield. This second watermark can be found in cards such as the 1.5.8 of Dog Collars and some various numbers of the Knave of Nooses and Horns. The first watermark coincides with symbolism found in eastern France and Flanders in the years 1464-1480 while the second seems to be from 1468-1479 southern Flanders and the north Lowlands.