This is a very large work - perhaps a finger painting. There is very little known about Ma Futu, other than he received the jinshi degree in 1654, and very few attributed works world-wide. This painting is pictured in a photograph with two gentlemen from the early years of the 20th century in the record for the Munthe collection at Scripps. It is a very striking work and adds to the variety of subject matter present in the figure paintings in the collection. Depictions of Zhong Kui the demon queller were popular in both court and folk painting, as people displayed images of Zhong Kui during the Dragon Boat Festival (fifth day of the fifth lunar month), as well as New Year’s Day, to ward off evil influences. With XX.1.66 above and the conserved painting PE 09, another large and striking example of depiction of a popular deity.

Professor Kathleen Ryor, Carleton College

Listed in the Munthe inventory (p.94) as a "Life-sized portrait of Chung Kwei holding a small animal in his hands; a demon offering him a gourd. By Ma Fu-t'u whose signature probably is genuine, but who lived in the 18th century (previously designated as Ming). Good example of religous portraiture of that period."

Multicolored paints brushed on silk.

Portrait of a man with bat iconography, and a demon offering him a gourd.

This object has the following keywords:

• Mythological Creatures
• Paintings

This object is a member of the following portfolios: