The ancient Chinese terracotta army is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site halfway around the world, but now Virginians will get the chance to glimpse the history in their own backyard.
It was 1974, and farmers in China were digging a well when they stumbled on one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the century: a life size army, made of clay, built and buried by an ancient Chinese emperor.
“There are 8,000 figures that are buried in the three separate parts of the mausoleum, but only 10-percent of his burial mausoleum has been excavated so we have no idea how much in terms of riches still lays buried in the earth,” described Alex Nyerges, executive director of Virginia’s Museum of Fine Arts.
Artifacts from the burial mausoleum, along with ten of the clay soldiers, are now on display at Virginia’s Museum of Fine Arts as part of their newest exhibit “Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China.”
The VMFA has brought 120 of the ancient artifacts here, a third of which have never traveled outside China before. The exhibit is the result of more than eight years of diplomatic work by Nyerges and the museum’s Curator for East Asian Art Li Jian.
The exhibition is filled with ancient ceramics, bronze vases and jade jewelry. It combines history, archaeology and artwork.
In addition to creating the exhibition, Jian also worked on an extensive catalog of the objects along with new research and history. The catalog will be distributed by Yale University Press.
The most dramatic element is ten of the original terracotta warriors uncovered in China. Each statue is a unique life-sized individual. William Neer worked on the exhibit.
“Every face, every garment it was handcrafted by different craftsman,” said William Neer, curatorial assistant. “And then each figure is supposed to represent certain components of the Xin dynasty.”
Larger parts of the body and heads were created using pre-made molds. But then additional details, like hair and arms, were added after, explained Neer.
The exhibit opened November 18 and will be stay open through March 11. You can find more information on tickets and times here.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
