Sola-Busca Tarot
Author: Unknown master (Northern Italy)
Year: 1491
Country: Italy
Cards: 78 cards
Updated: 2026-06-26
The oldest surviving complete 78-card Tarot deck and the first in which all the Minor Arcana bear scenic illustrations. The deck was created in Northern Italy around 1491 using line engraving with subsequent hand colouring. Its imagery is unusual for Tarot: instead of the familiar allegories, it shows classical heroes, commanders and alchemical motifs that reflect the scholarly interests of the Renaissance. It is believed that the British Museum photographs of the Sola-Busca cards inspired Pamela Colman Smith to give the Waite deck its scenic minor arcana.
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