A group of thirty-three handpainted As-Nas playing cards. Persia: nineteenth century. Cards measure 2 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches; Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on wood or papiermâché under lacquered varnish. General wear commensurate to age and use, with intermittent toning and craquelure to varnish, some cards with edgewear or small losses to the painted surfaces, and one card with a broken corner, one card with a paper label taped to underside; housed in; an associated Louis-Phillippe brass inset ebony box with a fitted interior. France: mid-nineteenth century. 5 x 8 x 1 3/4 inches; Some scuffs and small losses to the wood veneer, the brass inset border on the lid of the box is coming up in places, without a key.

This group of Persian As-Nas cards was likely assembled from multiple decks, as certain cards are represented in as many as four different designs. The deck comprises four As cards, ten Shah cards in three designs, three Bibi cards, ten Serbaz cards in four designs, and six Couli or Lakat cards in three designs. Large sets of finely painted Nineteenth-century As-Nas cards such as these are quite rare. For similar sets see the the decks held at the Brooklyn Museum and the MFA Houston.