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Iraqi Archeological Remnants and possible influences
on the Tarot
by Jean-Michel David
One of the consequences of the last Iraqi war has been
the pilleging of its museums, out of which a number of ‘minor’ archaeological
artefacts have been taken. As a consequence, and to limit
illicit trading in these, the July/August 2003 issue of Minerva (vol
14, n4) has wonderfully reproduced a significant number
of images, ranging from bowls and vases to statuettes,
jewellery and cuneiform tablets.
Of specific interest to us are a number of cylinder seals
and, even more significantly, some ivory relief plaques,
mostly dating from the eighth century BCE. Trade from this
region has a long history, and, in fact, prehistory. I
am moved to imagine how these may have been understood
by people living anywhere from the Iberian to the Italian
peninsula at the time - or rather, just before the time
- of Tarot’s emergence.
Allow me to describe and show some of the images of some
of these more relevant artefacts. The reader’s imagination
has already been, I am sure, awakened to some of the similarities
as their eyes perused these pages prior to reading these
words.
There are a number of relief plaques, of Syro-Phoenician
origin, and carved from ivory, which measure 29.9 cm in
height and 12 cm in width - not much larger than the Visconti-Sforza
cards. Their very relief-type carving would remind any
woodcut carver that here were plates made for the purposes
of printing - I am not suggesting, of course, that this
was their purpose. Rather, the images, especially as relief
and given their size, would have suggested this
use.
Some of these relief plaques are even more appropriately
sized, with a height of 10.5 cm and a width of 5.5 cm -
suggesting, I propose again, card-type woodcuts (save that
in this case, they are ivory rather than wood).
A few of the extant ones are especially interesting.
Take M65318 (T65-124), included below, and compare the
design to depictions of XI Strength.
 
Not knowing how many, if any, of these very plaques may
have made it to European shores makes for conjectures which
may be too readily rejected or dismissed as just too far
fetched. Nonetheless, enough of the images extant in Tarot
hark back to half forgotten or even lost raison d’Åtre,
traditions, allegories and iconography.
Another set are larger images, each, accoding to the
accompanying annotations, 46 cm in height and approximately
12.5 cm wide. These may have formed the back of a throne
or the heardboard of a bed. The central relief plaque of
the set below is of what appears to be an enthroned woman
holding in her right hand what may be a pomegranate. At
her feet, as a footrest, appears, again, what resembles
a leonine pair of animals. The relief is badly worn, and
the image quality such that clarity of the decipherment
of depiction is impinged. Still, again, what would such
a set suggest to the mediaeval woodcut artist?
 
I would imagine that, for the purposes of transport by
any possible merchant, the plaques would have been removed
from the chair-back or bed-head. Following is a depiction
as to how the individual ivory rectangular reliefs were
used in the backing of a chair - undoubtedly a chair of
political and religious significance: a throne.
Before moving on yet earlier tablets, permit me to also
include two of the relief plaques first mentioned. The
images, per se, have little resemblance with Tarot imagery
- save possibly with VIIII the Hermit. Nonetheless, it
is the clarity of their form which, if these had, along
with others, found their way to regions of Tarot emergence,
have proved influential.
 
Two other much earlier depictions are also of significance,
each dating from the early second millenium BCE and made
of, in this case, terracotta.
Here we have some of the earliest representations of
very Tarot-like images. In the first instance, Ishtar (according
to the description) stands on a lion. In the second of
these is a frontal view of a Chariot, complete with canopy,
and so reminiscent of its Tarot equivalent image:
 
Finally, though maybe not as significantly, two ‘boxers’ according
to the description, are facing each other, in ways which
recall similar depiction upon the lower portion of XVIIII
the Sun:
 
It should be noted again that I am not arguing that Tarot
cards in any way originate from these images. What I am suggesting,
somewhat controversially, is that should any such-like
plaques have found their way amongst the image makers of
early cards - even if only European-made Mamluk card makers,
then they may have been, along with myriad other influencial
works, highly significant.
If nothing else, these certainly should prove of iconographic
interest to those of us with such an orientation. In addition
to these reliefs, there are, of course, numerous statuettes.
These, however, though providing image similarities, would
not have suggested to the woodcut engraver that they were
in any way intended for the production of ‘mass’ card
production, unlike the above ones.
It is again worth noting that many of these artifacts
have unfortunately gone missing as a consequence of the
recent Iraqi war, and that some will undoubtedly surface
in the private collections of the unscrupulous. A call
has been made to report any sightings on the world’s
black market, and hope this addition to the archaeological
requests assists the plight of the Iraqi museum in both
making its collection better known, and in the recovery
of its - and indeed our collective - international human
heritage.
Of Interest
 
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