{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1805254"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1805254/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PH1996/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PH1996/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2025PH1996","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PH1997","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PH3140","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PH3138","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PF8372","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PF8375","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PF8377","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PF8378","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PF8379","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PF8380","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O1805254/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1805254","accessionNumber":"T.79-2025","objectType":"Cover","titles":[{"title":"Card table cover","type":""}],"summaryDescription":"In early modern Britain, card play was largely a social phenomenon that took off dramatically in the eighteenth century as a fashionable component of hospitality. Cards were played at every social level, from taverns and fairs to the salons of the aristocracy, where games of whist, piquet, réversis or quadrille could bring hours of amusement. It was perceived not only as a stimulating entertainment, but also as a necessary accomplishment for those hoping to take their place in polite society, particularly within the increasingly wealthy middle classes. \r\nThe ubiquitous culture of card play inevitably resulted in the appearance of a range of related commodities. Tables specifically designed for playing cards had appeared in England before the early eighteenth century and from then on were made in large quantities. Most of them had a hinged rectangular top that unfolded to reveal what was usually a leather, velvet or baize cover. Such soft surfaces protected the table, and provided a non-slip, noise-dulling play area to lay cards and toss counters. Used to tally winnings or keep score, the counters were often made of bone or mother-of-pearl and could easily suffer scuffs and chips if thrown across a wooden table top.\r\nThe embroideries made specifically for card tables usually feature a trompe l'œil design where the visual illusions include a card game in mid flow and gaming accessories such as drawstring purses, coins and tokens.\r\nThis example was made in Britain about 1730 and features a trompe-l'œil depiction of the game of quadrille in progress. Quadrille was a trick-taking card game that enjoyed significant popularity in eighteenth-century England, particularly among the nobility and women of the middle and upper classes. It was played with a pack of 40 cards where the 8, 9 and 10 of each suit are discarded. Such deck is depicted here. Other objects include two small bouquets of flowers tied with colourful ribbons, four counter boxes, gaming tokens of different sizes and colour, and a chatelaine with a watch, swivel fob seal and a winding key. While the style of the seal and especially the winding key correspond to the fashions of the Rococo period, the watch is of an old-fashioned design. It has an octagonal case and a dial with the inner Roman hours and outer Arabic minute rings. Such octagonal cases were almost a trademark of seventeenth-century German watches.\r\nThe folding fan is partly opened to show a portion of its painted leaf with what appear to be fruit trees in bloom. The style of the landscape, and the borders ornamented with geometric patterns, suggest that this may be a depiction of a fan made in China for the Western market. The unusual ornamentation of the four counter boxes in the corners recalls tortoiseshell patterns, suggesting that the boxes, just like the fan, reference the luxury imports from East Asia. \r\n","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Embroidery","id":"THES48960"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2025PH1996","2025PH1997","2025PH3140","2025PH3138","2025PF8372","2025PF8375","2025PF8377","2025PF8378","2025PF8379","2025PF8380"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES385804"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Cover","id":"x47856"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1730s","earliest":"1730-01-01","latest":"1739-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Length","value":"78","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Maximum length, measured including the lobed corners."},{"dimension":"Width","value":"83.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Maximum width, measured inlcuding the lobed corners"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Embroidered card table cover, worked in gros point and petit point with silk and wool on linen canvas.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.79-2025"],"accessionNumberNum":"79","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2025,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-02-19","recordCreationDate":"2025-06-03","availableToBook":true}}