Dashavatara Ganjifa playing cards
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1980
This object is a set of circular Dashavatara Ganjifa playing cards made in 1980 in India, specifically associated with the Bishnupur District in West Bengal. The set consists of 120 cards in total, accompanied by one unfinished card, with each card measuring approximately 110 mm in diameter. The cards feature a brown reverse side, while the illustrated faces are painted with various figures, deities, and motifs, such as figures mounted on horses, seated deities within architectural pavilions, and aquatic or botanical designs framed by circular borders.
The cards were constructed using cotton fabric that was starched, primed, painted, and lacquered. The set was painted by members of the family of Babhu Shudir Fauzdar, representing the traditional Bishnupur style of card-making.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
In 1980, the family members of Babhu Shudir Fauzdar who painted this set were the only makers of ganjifa cards still actively working in Bishnupur.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Cotton fabric, starched, primed, painted and lacquered. Back: brown.
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 110 mm
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Unknown
- Place recorded
- India
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Card game
- Museum object number
- IS.66:1 to 121-1981
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.