Ian Cumpstey aka Skadipress on Instagram has been sharing his work on a deck of cards he called Liber Ludorum inspired by the celtic knotworks and illuminated pages found in the renown Book of Kells, Lindisfarne Gospels and other richly decorated manuscripts from early medieval Ireland and Britain.
It’s colorful, made by hand in watercolour, and has interesting knots, labyrinths and spirals. The Kings and Queens are inspired by evangelists panel pages from famous manuscripts.
The aces are full carpet pages and on the other hand the pip cards are not decorated, reminding the dichotomy of those insular manuscripts: richly illuminated on some specific pages, and often very plain on the rest of the folios.
To learn more about the process of creation of this Insular art inspired deck of cards, go read the dedicated page on Ian Cumpstey’s website. He is a card maker and has been creating several deck of cards illustrated by hand, sold most of the times through crowdfundings.
Here are some images shares on his website and Instagram. Notice how every suit has its own type of border (labyrinths for diamond, spirals for hearts, knots for clubs, animals for spades). Click to zoom.
