F. du Mogol from playing cards "Jeu d'Or" 18th century

Curator: Here we have a rather intriguing print, a playing card dating to the 18th century and part of a series called "Jeu d'Or," attributed to an anonymous artist. The card is entitled "F. du Mogol". Editor: It strikes me as playful, but almost mocking in its presentation. There’s an element of fantasy mixed with caricature. The figure seems deliberately exaggerated, almost like a paper doll. Curator: Precisely. "Mogol" in this context, refers to the Mughal Empire in India, and this card reflects Europe’s fascination—and perhaps misunderstanding—of distant cultures. The elaborate dress, rendered with a kind of whimsical precision, carries a lot of meaning. Consider the turban, the layering of fabrics, and the gesture of presenting what appears to be a fan. Editor: Yes, it’s a loaded presentation. The “exotic” is rendered as spectacle, devoid of context. Note how the clothing, rendered with what looks like gold print, is not only “othered”, but displayed in a setting akin to a collection, pinned down like a butterfly. The French phrases bordering the image–snippets about love, and asking what you want–feel deliberately ironic against this backdrop. Is it about romance, or acquisition, or simple fetishisation? Curator: These were popular parlour games. Cards as maps of a globalizing world and mirrors reflecting the prejudices of their time. Even the choice of engraving, allows for wider distribution, embedding those attitudes within the culture. Editor: And those number pairings! What’s the equation it implies between wealth, desire, and empire? It’s not merely descriptive, it's subtly prescriptive, telling a particular story about Europe’s relationship to the “Orient.” We see, framed as entertainment, the normalization of colonial fantasies. Curator: It's a reminder of how deeply intertwined representation is with power dynamics, even within something as seemingly innocuous as a deck of cards. It invites a more critical lens toward seemingly neutral cultural objects. Editor: Absolutely. This card isn’t just about playing games. It reflects the dangerous games of empire-building, and cultural appropriation, repackaged for entertainment. Looking closely reminds us that those games continue, just in new guises.