Anyone interested in going to check this out?

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army

One of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
Kneeling archer, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), terracotta with pigment, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Lintong. &$169; The Trustees of The British Museum with the permission of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center. Photo: John Williams and Saul Peckham.

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army is inspired by one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. The exhibition includes complete terracotta warrior figures and represents one of the most important groups of works relating to the First Emperor ever to be loaned to the U.S.

The famed terracotta army was initially discovered in 1974. In recent years, ongoing excavations have revealed that the army stood guard over a vast underground palace of far greater complexity than was previously assumed. The exhibitions will present both iconic and recently discovered examples including warriors from the terracotta army, court officials, acrobats, musicians, terracotta chariot horses, and bronze water birds discovered beside the complex's underground river.
Crane, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), bronze with colored pigment, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Lintong. &$169; The Trustees of The British Museum with the permission of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center. Photo: John Williams and Saul Peckham.


These life-sized terracotta figures populated the underground tomb complex just as they would have been integral to the activities of the First Emperor's actual court. With so many figures on view, visitors will be able to see how each assumes a distinct role. For the soldiers, differences in armor detailing and hair style denote military rank. Some stand while others kneel, frozen in the poses of infantrymen, generals,...

Anyone interested in going to check this out?

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army

One of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
Kneeling archer, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), terracotta with pigment, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Lintong. &$169; The Trustees of The British Museum with the permission of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center. Photo: John Williams and Saul Peckham.

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army is inspired by one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. The exhibition includes complete terracotta warrior figures and represents one of the most important groups of works relating to the First Emperor ever to be loaned to the U.S.

The famed terracotta army was initially discovered in 1974. In recent years, ongoing excavations have revealed that the army stood guard over a vast underground palace of far greater complexity than was previously assumed. The exhibitions will present both iconic and recently discovered examples including warriors from the terracotta army, court officials, acrobats, musicians, terracotta chariot horses, and bronze water birds discovered beside the complex's underground river.
Crane, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), bronze with colored pigment, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Lintong. &$169; The Trustees of The British Museum with the permission of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center. Photo: John Williams and Saul Peckham.


These life-sized terracotta figures populated the underground tomb complex just as they would have been integral to the activities of the First Emperor's actual court. With so many figures on view, visitors will be able to see how each assumes a distinct role. For the soldiers, differences in armor detailing and hair style denote military rank. Some stand while others kneel, frozen in the poses of infantrymen, generals, and archers in action. For the civilian figures, identities are revealed by stature, costume, and stance: the heavy belly of the strongman, the lithe pose of the acrobat, and the small frame of the robed stable boy disclose a carefully orchestrated court life in which each person served a distinct purpose.
Stone armor, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), limestone, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Lintong. &$169; The Trustees of The British Museum with the permission of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center. Photo: John Williams and Saul Peckham.
Further, all figures are individualized with a distinctive facial appearance. Close to 1,000 figures have been excavated from the tomb, and it is estimated that a total of 7,000 may ultimately be unearthed. No two terracotta figures are identical, testifying to a remarkable feat of organized production.

The First Emperor will present the objects within their historical and archaeological contexts and will discuss recent research and excavation. In doing so, the exhibition also presents a reassessment of the First Emperor himself, a crucial figure in Chinese history. It was through his military conquest that what we now know as China was unified in 221 B.C. Equally important to the empire were his governmental and cultural achievements, which include the establishment of a centralized bureaucracy, a unified law code, standardized coinage and script, and the building of the Great Wall. The objects on view in The First Emperor are at once a representation of the military and civilian worlds he created, and a demonstration of his desire to exert equal control over his afterlife.