Beautiful, playable, hand-drawn art printed by USPCC and inspired by one of the earliest known decks, which came from Cairo, Egypt! – Sultana Playing Cards (former Mamluk Reborn Playing Cards and Sultanate Playing Cards :)) by Deco Playing Cards. 

“Sultana is the first in a trilogy that will follow the evolution of playing cards from their Moorish roots to their modern manifestations!

The deck art is 100% hand-drawn in pencil before digitally colored!  The cards are printed on Bicycle® stock with a silken finish.” ~ Deco Playing Cards

The Art

Deco Playing Cards’ debut deck is inspired by one of the oldest-known deck of 52 playing cards from Mamluk Egypt, discovered in a museum in Istanbul.  The artist of the deck is Dave Boyd, and the designer of our custom tuck box is Katy Orr.

“Vegetation is an important feature in this early deck, so we have assigned a plant important to the culture and economy of Islamic empires, visible in the backgrounds and in the hands of the Queens: the Lotus for the Hearts, the Blue Egyptian Water Lily for Diamonds, the Poppy for Clubs, and the Cumin Flower for Spades.

Additionally, the original deck had different suits, which we have assigned to the Kings: the Spades shows the King of Swords, the Clubs shows the King of Polo Sticks, the Diamonds shows the King of Coins, and the Hearts shows the King of Cups. The King of Hearts, traditionally the Suicide King, is here in the pose of Socrates in Jacques-Louis David’s “Death of Socrates.” ~ Deco Playing Cards

The back is a reinterpretation of Islamic tapestry design.

You could pledge here: http://kck.st/ZHfE1h [Funded – April 21, 2013]

Try to find the deck HERE.

Old Back

New Back

Jokers

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————