LATE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

The bianfang was part of the qi tou, the headdress of Manchu ladies of rank. They were worn across the top of the headdress to stiffen the frame. Gold inlaid wood seems to have been a speciality of the Qing court, and the present example is probably part of a set of adornments which include matching bracelets such as the pair in the present sale, lot 1366, and the pair in the National Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Qingdai Fushi Zhanlan Tulu, Qing Dynasty Costume Accessories, Taipei, 1986, p. 254, no. 238. A related aloeswood bianfang with a different design is illustrated, ibid., p. 217, no. 182.