Mantegna Tarot

Dublin Core

Title

Mantegna Tarot

Subject

Historical tarot

Description

Despite its name, the Mantegna deck is not a true tarot, and does not have traditional suits, major arcana, or court cards.

It consists of 50 cards divided into 5 classes (E through A) of 10 cards each.
  • Class E: Human Conditions
  • Class D: Apollo and the Muses
  • Class C: Arts and Sciences
  • Class B: Genuises and Virtues
  • Class A: Planets and Celestial Spheres
In this set from Lo Scarabeo, there are also 25 additional cards containing multi-lingual interpretations, as well as 3 cards offering divination guidance (in 6 different languages). A title card and advertising card are also included, as is standard with most LS decks.

This deck is accompanied by a fold-out guide (not quite a full LWB) that explains some background to the Mantegna, then provides directions for laying out a complex game of divinatory solitaire. I haven't tried it, but it looks interesting; the directions are too complex to relay here.

The box is the standard LS cardboard tuckbox format, but with added silver stamping embellishment. 

The cards measure 12 cm tall x 6.6 cm wide.

The card stock is smooth and flexible, with a matte finish. The cards feature silver metallic stamping that is truly beautiful in person. It makes the deck look and feel luxurious.

The card back design is fully reversible.

No artist's or designer's name is given on the box, but the fold-out guide credits Atanas Atanassov with this redesign of the historical deck.

For background on the Mantegna, see:

Mantegna Tarocchi (Wikipedia)

"An Hermetic Origin of the Tarot Cards? A Consideration of the Tarocchi of Mantegna" by Adam McLean

Creator

Atanassov, Atanas A.

Publisher

Lo Scarabeo

Date

© 2000

Format

50 cards (plus 25 interpretation cards)

Language

Multilingual

Type

Historical

Identifier

978-0738700915

Citation

Atanassov, Atanas A., “Mantegna Tarot,” The Osborne Tarot Collection, accessed September 8, 2024, http://tarot.zerosummer.org/items/show/322.

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