Tarot du Roy Nissanka
Exquisitely detailed tarot inspired by Indian and Persian miniatures.
by Maria Mestre
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The record
I fell in love with this tarot deck the moment I took it out of its box. It is beautiful! Reminiscent of Indian or Persian miniatures, the costumes are exquisitely detailed and the scene-less pips are lavishly decorated with flowers and vines. Even the reversible backs of the cards are gorgeous, in a deep navy blue with a lovely gold diamond pattern. The blue color is carried onto the front in the borders. Richly saturated pinks, purples and blues predominate and shiny gold highlights add to the richness of the cards. King Nissanka was a 12th century king of Sri Lanka. It is said that he was wise and well respected. Many beautiful temples and other structures were attributed to him. Rather than being based on history, the cards seem to have been inspired by a legend surrounding the king. In the legend, the sorceress Shandra presented the king with a magical picture book. The book gave him his great wisdom, and it was in the colors that its secrets were held. The cards do not tell the story of Shandra and King Nissanka, but the colors and exotic costumes must have been inspired by it. Indeed great historical liberties have been taken; while King Nissanka was a Buddhist, the characte
The cards
