Vintage Chinese Demon Hunter Shoki Zhong Kui Boxwood Carving 15"H 鍾馗打鬼

Antique Chinese Boxwood Carving

Zhong Kui

The Demon Hunter 鍾馗打鬼

Circa: Chinese Republic, 1930s'
H 13 in. (33cm), W 5 in. (12.5cm), D 5 in. (12.5cm)
Total height with sword: 17 in. (43cm)

Condition: minor imperfections.

Zhong Kui first appeared in the 8th century when demons haunted the Tang Emperor Ming Huang. Then one night he dreamed of a giant demon capturing and eating a smaller one. Upon awakening, Emperor Ming Huang instructed the court painter to paint a portrait of the Ghost Eater, which became the first image of Zhong Kui, a black-faced Judge of Hell with a flaring beard, dressed in imperial robes and wielding a huge sword. In this fine carving of the legendary hero, he has one arm raised, holding a long sword in an ethereal vigor as his knee bends forward sideways stepping onto a condemned ghost by his feet. Both the Judge and the ghost's explicit facial expressions effectively articulated a theatrical composition, with fine details in an ornate cuirass armor and supple folds flanked by a fierce countenance that brings the complexity of the mythical scene to life.

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