Hab.t de la Savoie, from the playing cards (for quartets) "Costumes des Peuples Étrangers" 18th century

Curator: This curious playing card, "Hab.t de la Savoie, from the playing cards (for quartets) 'Costumes des Peuples Étrangers'," dates from the 18th century. The artist remains anonymous, but it’s made using etching, drawing and colored pencil and resides now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It feels so orderly, almost regimented in its composition. Despite the rather quaint coloring, it gives off a slightly austere impression. A family unit perhaps, positioned formally, layered against one another... and the numbers scrawled on top… how peculiar. Curator: It depicts the traditional dress of Savoyards. Notice the layering. The family are arranged not exactly against each other, rather behind each other with clear separation—this signifies rigid class order, common within those eras. What's especially interesting is its format, used as an element of play for entertainment as well as the visual instruction in cultural knowledge and social hierarchies. Editor: Instruction indeed, and the graphic layering reinforces it. Note the contrast between the active foreground and the stilted background; the child, almost caught mid-motion, contrasted to the fixed posture of the parents. But what are we to make of the philosophical assertions here in the card suits themselves and what they aim to teach? It certainly shifts our reading away from naive observation of Savoyard costume! Curator: The philosophical underpinnings, as you mentioned, and suits that serve as pedagogical devices—they were characteristic of the era's emphasis on disseminating knowledge in entertaining ways, all meant to encourage social mobility. It’s interesting how playing cards are often underestimated as artifacts—in essence, they are pocket guides. Editor: Yes, pocket guides, indeed. The combination of social class and philosophical advice creates such an odd mixture. There's something intriguing in that awkward juxtaposition, suggesting perhaps the tension and the constraints in such tightly bound societal order, which such playful cards also intended to solidify. Curator: The artist managed to encapsulate the essence of a specific time through seemingly simple design. It's like peeking through a keyhole into a bygone era. Editor: Yes, I agree. The interplay between costume, design, societal function, play and didactic elements makes this seemingly straightforward card something wonderfully complex.