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Mongolian Mask Dancing

Published September 10, 2017 Updated May 20, 2022

Mongolian Religious Mask Dancing playing cards, c.2010

Mongolia Sherson Publishing House Tul Co Ltd Ethnic & Indigenous Religion

Mongolian Religious Mask Dancing playing cards, c.2010, printed by Tul Co Ltd of Ulaanbaatar Mongolia but published by Sherson Publishing House Pte Ltd of Singapore. The art of Mongolian Mask Dancing is called "Tsam" and is one of the significant religious rituals reflecting buddhist teaching. It is a theatrical art performed by skilled dancers bearing the external appearance and characters of different apostles and devils, animals or real people whose names can be read at the bottom of each card. See the Box

Mongolian Religious Mask Dancing playing cards, c.2010

Above: Mongolian Religious Mask Dancing playing cards, c.2010.

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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

Member since January 30, 2009

Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.

His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.

Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.

Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.

His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.


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