A large painting of two Heavenly Kings (Tianwang), Late Ming / Qing dynasty

Washington D.C. Private Collection, 1990s.

Painted in the traditional Shuilu hua (‘Water and Land paintings’) style initially popularized in the Yuan and early Ming dynasty, the present painting depicts two of the four Heavenly Guardian Kings (Ch: tianwang), alongside attendant demons. Such paintings, which typically mix Buddhist and Daoist elements, would have been part of a larger group used during the Shuilu Fahui (‘Water and Land Dharma Assembly’) ceremony to appease deceased spirits. Compare the present work with a very closely related example from the Gumpel Collection, sold at Hotel Drouot, Paris, 24th November 1904, lot 2046 (Fig. 1). See, also, a group of ‘Water and land paintings’ originally from the collection of India House, sold at Christie’s New York, 28th September 2021, lots 54-56.