A depiction of this magic trick being performed in Medieval Europe is found in The Conjurer, an early 16 th century oil painting by Hieronymus Bosch.Īpart from Bosch’s painting of the cups and balls routine, we do not actually have much information about the performance of magic tricks in medieval Europe. This was not only a practical way to carry the cups and balls around, but also a convenient place to hide and retrieve the balls.
Incidentally, this trick was performed in many parts of the ancient world, including the Middle East and various parts of Asia.Īnother interesting fact about the European history of this trick is that magicians would carry the tools of their trade in a bag with strings that was tied around their waist. For example, the trick became known as il gioco dei bussolotti, which translates to mean “the game of the dice shakers.” This is due to the fact that the Italian magicians who performed this trick used cylindrical boxwood dice shakers instead of cups. In spite of its name, the cups and balls has often been substituted with other objects. By skilled manipulation, the magician would put the extra ball under one of the cups, whilst removing the original ball as secretly as possible from the original cup. In reality, unbeknownst to the audience, the magician has an additional ball on hand. The magician would then make the ball jump from the original cup to another, or make the ball multiply. At its most basic, a ball is placed under one of three cups. As its name suggests, the trick involves cups and balls. Whether it began in ancient Egypt or ancient Rome, the cups and balls routine is arguably the oldest magic trick that has survived till this day, and one that has remained immensely popular. ( Tübingen University ) The Oldest Magic Trick: The Cups and Balls Routine
Here it can be seen in one of the colored drawings in the Tübingen house book. The cups and balls routine is recognized as one of oldest illusionary magic tricks in history. But show me how the trick is done, and I have lost my interest therein.” “Such quibbles are just as harmlessly deceptive as the juggler's cup and dice, in which it is the very trickery that pleases me. In his 45 th epistle, Seneca wrote as follows: This magic trick is referred to by Seneca the Younger in his Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (“Moral Letters to Lucillius”), which dates to around the 65 AD. Īncient Levitation – Magicians Secret Crafts RevealedĪlthough it cannot be said with absolute certainty that the scene from the wall painting of Baqet’s tomb depicts the “cups and balls” routine, we can be sure that it was performed by the Romans. Others, however, speculate that this may actually be some other type of game that was played by the ancient Egyptians. Some have interpreted this as the first “cups and balls” routine, a classic magic sleight of hand trick.
One of the scenes represented in this wall painting depicts two kneeling men with four inverted bowls between them. This tomb is located in the necropolis of Beni Hassan, and belongs to Baqet III, a monarch who lived during the 11 th Dynasty (21 st century BC). Examples of the practice of magic, however, may have predated Old Persian.Ī wall painting from an ancient Egyptian tomb may contain the oldest depiction of magic. Later still, the word entered Old French, and from thence, English, where it replaced the Old English wiccecræft (meaning “witchcraft”). Subsequently, this word was adopted in Greek and Latin. Tracing the Origins of Illusory MagicĮtymologically speaking, the word “magic” comes from the Old Persian magush. Although modern illusion magic as we know it may be traced to around the 18 th century, its origins can be found in the ancient past. Moreover, these tricks are meant to entertain the audience. Illusion magic, on the other hand, involves the creation of illusions that seem supernatural or impossible, but in fact are achieved by natural means. These acts of sorcery involve an attempt to control the natural world through supernatural or paranormal means. One should be careful, however, not to confuse illusion magic with acts of sorcery, which are also referred to as magic. In what follows we will refer to this art as magic. Illusion magic is a performing art that has existed throughout the ages.
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