ACE OF DISCS, c.1949
Watercolour. 7½ x 7½in. (19.3 x 19cm.)
Titled on the face of the work.
Provenance
National Trust bequest.
Tate Gallery Archive.
The card is traditionally depicted as a hand, issuing from a cloud, holding a branch of a rose tree from which issues a large pentangle, formed of five concentric circles.
Colquhoun has deviated significantly from this description. In addition to leaving out the cloud and hand, the image consists of a flaming yellow disc from which flow three red streams of colour. It resembles a spinning Catherine wheel or heavenly body.
The Ace of Discs is also known as The Root of the Powers of the Earth.