We’re not certain if these old Indian cards with wonderful watercolor images are tarot cards or not; perhaps they’re old playing cards or religious instructional cards. At the end of the video, you can see the beautiful writing on the back of the cards. Go to Design2Share.com for videos, tips, blogs, columns, and lots of advice for home design and decorating.
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We are THRILLED with your help! We got them from a woman in NYC who had them for 30 years (she actually died underneath them, but that’s another story…), and this is what we were told when we received this lovely gift. You have inspired us to dig deeper and look into these lovely spiritual cards much further!
… are strongly indicative of an Indian motif, specifically Mughal in their rendition, namely the elephant and horse among others. So perhaps these cards are an amalgamation of a cultural crossroads? Maybe they are old copies or ‘reprints’ of even older works? I couldn’t say more without actually seeing them. I hope that’s of some interest and assistance to you.
… philosophies, or for a specific ritual. I have several cards similar to these, actually. They are likely made of lokta paper, a material derived from a shrub common to the Himalayas, with a papery bark. The inks are made from mineral pigments, which are rich and lush even after many decades. The cards are likely well over a century old. What throws me off is the ethnicity of the human figures depicted; they are very un-Tibetan in appearance, more like Mongolian. Also, some of the animals
These cards are none of the above; the sanskrit writing on the back is clearly Tibetan in nature, deviating from the Hindu characters by their sharp angular shapes. Each card is filled with iconic traditional Tibetan Buddhist imagery; conch shells, wish-fulfilling gems, kapalas, malas, tingsha, mandalas, staffs, parasols, katas to name just a few.
You are correct on one count – they are religious in nature. Likely they were used in a monestary as teaching aids, perhaps for particular
Thank you for watching, and hello to you down in beautiful Australia!
very beautiful, thankyou for sharing this treasure.