Striking engraving of a domesticated white or silver gyrfalcon perched on the leather-gloved hand of the hunter. To the right is an illustration of bird's head in an elaborate Dutch hood decorated with red fabric, ribbons and feathers. The Dutch hood was developed by Northern European falconers to close off a bird's field of vision in order to keep it from becoming frightened or aggressive.

Falconry is a sport dating to medieval times. A bird of prey - usually a falcon or hawk - was used by the huntsman to hunt its natural prey. It is thought that one of the derivations of the word "hookwinked" is from falcon hoods.

Georg Wolfgang Knorr was a German paleontologist, as well as a painter, draftsman, engraver, collector and art dealer. At age 18, he became a copperplate engraver for Leonhard Blanc, working with Martin Tyroff on the illustrations for Jacob Scheuchzer's Physica sacra (1731). Later he engraved portraits, landscapes, geological formations, and animal studies after Dürer and the Kilian family. In the second half of the 18th century, Nuremberg overtook Augsburg as the center of production for fine natural history books in Germany . There, Knorr published scientific works distinguished by their beautiful hand-colored plates.

Below the print is a dedication: "Ex Museo Excell. Dn. D. Christ. Jac. Trew. S. S." This refers to the collection of Christoph Jacob Trew, a physician and botanist and major patron of natural history artists and works. Trew is most famous for his support of botanical artist Dionysius Ehret's in publishing both Plantae Selectae and Hortus Nitidissimis, among the finest ever 18th-century botanical sets.

Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall toning and light edge wear.

References: Nissen 2235. Lanckoronska & Öhler I, 46. S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History pp. 78 & 217.