Visconti-Sforza Tarot

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot refers to a group of luxury hand-painted decks made in the mid-fifteenth century for the dukes of Milan from the Visconti and Sforza families. They are among the oldest surviving tarot cards; the decks are incomplete and scattered across several collections, including in New York and Bergamo. Some of the cards are attributed to the workshop of Bonifacio Bembo. Adorned with gold, they bear witness to the aristocratic, game-playing origins of the tarot.