The card game, ganjifa, is usually played with small, circular cards like these, and the pack contains 96 cards divided into eight suits of twelve. Two of these are court cards and the remaining ten are numerical. The suits in this pack are named after, and symbolically depict, various aspects of courtly life: the crown, the sword, gold and silver coins, servant, harp, document and cloth. The cards and the decorative box in which they are kept were made at Nirmal, near Hyderabad and are elaborately painted with gold leaf decoration.

The game of ganjifa, and its eight-suit pack, originated in Iran but had spread to India by the Mughal period. Card-playing soon became popular throughout the subcontinent and was enjoyed by both Muslims and Hindus. Ganjifa is still sometimes played today, although mostly by older people. It is based on the players aiming to collect 'tricks', rather like the western games of whist or bridge.