A RARE HUANGHUALI 'FALCON STAND', YINGJIA18th century The two slender posts, fitted with bronze 'mythical beast' finials, framing two horizontal stretchers, the top one fitted with a knob, enclosing a panel carved with a hunting scene on one side and a gilded landscape on the other, joined by two rails above and below the panel, framing 'cloud' and 'scrolling chrysanthemum' spandrels, the toprail padded with rope and fitted with a metal ring, all set on two solid feet decorated with two pairs of Buddhist lions. 114cm (44 7/8 in) high x 110cm (43 5/16 in) wide x 43cm (3 15/16 in) deep. 清十八世紀 黃花梨鷹架 Hunting and falconry were important pastimes of the Qing dynasty, both as a form of entertainment and as a way of learning military skills. It served to maintain and develop Manchu martial tradition. A related falcon stand with similar decoration is depicted in a painting by the Italian Jesuit Court painter Giuseppe Castiglione 郎世寧 (1688-1766), of a white falcon; see He Chuanxin, ed. , Portrayals from a Brush Divine: a Special Exhibition on the Tricentennial of Giuseppe Castiglione's Arrival in China , Taipei, 2015, pp.228-231. The detailed line drawings of the bronze 'mythical beast' finials fitted to the posts and the two pairs of Buddhist lions on the stand are both similar to the present lot. The padded rope on the top rail is for the falcon to grip and protect its talons, while the knob on the horizontal panel is said to be for the hood for the bird.