This Egyptian-themed tarot deck is *the* must sumptuous presentation of a tarot deck I have ever seen.  Layered in real gold, it has a luxurious texture as well as a gold foil look to it.  Each card has the Egyptian images more or less floated against the shiny textured gold foil.  Even the box has gold foil on it.

The one drawback, which needs to be pointed out, is that the images themselves are the identical twin of the Tarots of the Sphinx, only in reverse.  In the Sphinx, the backgrounds have a pale blueish grey linen look to them, which is also very nice, but this deck is just so much more spectacular.  The good side to this is that this means there is a more expensive and less expensive version of the same deck, so that if it's the images you like, you can pay less and get the Sphinx, but if you like the gold foil, this option is also available.  Both are very nice but it's important to note this because many collectors might end up with both.

Black borders around each card show off the gold foil to its finest potential.  Each image takes up the majority of the card, with titles beneath the image area in Italian and above in English, French, Spanish and German.  The number appears in the center of the top.  Major Arcana have roman numerals, and the Minor Arcana has arabic numerals.

Majors have traditional titles and order according to the European, or Marseille, standard.  Justice is 8 and Strength 11.  The Minor Arcana have the standard suits of Chalices, Pentacles, Wands and Swords.  Court cards are King, Queen, Knight and Knave.

The cards themselves are standard size and the card stock used is a normal weight with suitable flexibility for shuffling.  Edges are nicely rounded off.  Due to the hot stamped gold foil, you can generally tell which card is which through the back of the card, because of the pressing of the layers together.  The back design itself is a simple white Eye of Horus repeated over and over in many lines, some upside down and some upright, so that the design ends up reversible.

Overall I have to rate this deck right up there with Clive Barrett's Ancient Egyptian Tarot as my two favorite Egyptian themed decks.  And you can't rate one over the other, since they're apples and oranges..... anyone who is a fan of Egyptology will consider this deck a *must have.*  If you like a deck with "ooooh" and "ahhh" appeal, you can't get a better specimen than Nefertari's Tarots.  I very highly recommend it.  Not a deck for beginners but for collectors, you will see this and, if you're like me, you'll feel an unmistakeable urge to frame and mount the deck on the wall for display.....

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Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

Nefertari's Tarots by Silvana Alasia, 1999
published by LoScarabeo, Torino, Italy