dated c.1430
Originally in the collections of the dukes of Bavaria, these are considered amongst the earliest surviving sets of playing cards. The cards are made from pasteboard consisting of up to six sheets of paper glued together, over which, on the front side, a layer of gesso was applied. Outlines of the designs were scratched into the surface, while some details were drawn in with pen and ink. The entire surface was gilded and the designs were then painted over the gold. The backs are painted dark red.
The imagery in Hunting Books of the day, and on playing cards such as these which were destined for nobility, was often a parallel comment on moralia and human nature, although in this case the artist has portrayed the theme of hunting in a somewhat idyllic fashion with almost affectionate relationships between the female figures and the animals.
These cards were made by an unknown workshop in southern Germany, possibly Swabia. The artist has freely invented the suit symbols and the court hierarchy in relation to the theme of the courtly hunt.
source and individual cards if you like them