Maya Playing Cards
The designs of Mayan artists shown here give a general idea of their enormous artistic and cultural potential.
Maya Playing Cards, c.1991
Productora de Naipes y Confetti S.A. de C.V. (Pronaco), Mexico
With their imagination, skill and aesthetic perfection, the designs of Mayan artists shown here give a general idea of their enormous artistic and cultural potential. Mayan glyphs and artistic representations have been incorporated into the cards which also maintain the familiar numerical characteristics of Anglo-American playing cards. In addition to the Arabic numbering, each card also contains the Mayan equivalent of playing card suits and simple Mayan numbering. The set includes a multi-lingual leaflet published by Mundo Maya / Creaciones Artesanales del Sureste and a booklet describing the history of the Mayas, inside a specially made artesanal box.
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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