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Mughal ganjifa
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Mughal ganjifa
Sheopur, Madya Pradesh, India; early 20th century
Paper, painted and lacquered; card (diameter): 5.5 cm; box: 6.7 x 6.6 x 10.5 cm
Private Collection

Ganjifa: Indian Playing Cards
Early writers on the subject of playing cards held the opinion that cards first originated in India. The current thinking, however, is that playing cards actually originated in China. The word ganjifa, meaning “playing card,” appears in the fifteenth century, and may be related to the Persian word ganj, or “treasury.” The term apparently first was used for the four-suited Mamluk playing cards, and then for the eight-suited pack of Iran and India (which likely developed from use of two four-suited packs for a particular game). Both the four-suited Mamluk pack and the eight-suited ganjifa have suit signs based on emblems of court life; the former includes one suit of coins whereas the latter has two such suits, strongly suggesting the doubling of a four-suited pack.

Ganjifa is a trick-taking game, like whist or bridge, but with strict rules governing what cards may be led. There are usually three players (four when there are twelve or more suits in the pack), and all of the cards are dealt in counter-clockwise fashion. Ganjifa historically have been made from a variety of materials ranging from ivory and tortoiseshell to papier-mâché, paper, and stiffened cloth, all painted by hand. They are usually round, measuring from two to twelve centimeters in diameter.

   
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