Today I went to the High Museum in Atlanta with S. and E. to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit. This is the second place the warriors have traveled outside of China; the exhibit came here from the British Museum. The warriors date from 210 BC and were made for China's First Emperor. There are over 8,000 figures of generals, cavalry, infantry, musicians and civil officials, and horses, birds, chariots, and more that were made to protect the First Emperor in the afterlife. Here is the Wikipedia entry for an overview. It is a truly amazing archaeological discovery. The site is over 22 miles square (the size of Manhattan) and only a portion of the site has been excavated.
(This soldier and horse were in the exhibit.) I have been fascinated with the terracotta warriors since undergrad when we studied the site in my world archaeology class. This amazing site was unknown for over 2,000 years until a farmer discovered it in 1974. Can you imagine? I am fascinated by the fact that each figure was individualized with different facial features and hair styles and expressions. Even the horses have different expressions and mane and tail lengths. These figures were all painted in bright, vivid realistic paint and I imagine if you saw this in 210 BC it would look like a living army!
(this is a view of the actual site in China).I bought the exhibit guide which has a lot more detail about the history, discovery, and artifacts. If you are anywhere near Atlanta, you need to see this exhibit!
While at the High, we also saw the latest installment of the Louvre exhibit. This time, there was a really great Vermeer (The Astronomer) and two drawings by Michelangelo.
5 comments:
Can I just tell you how annoying it is that I went all the way over to China to see them, and those little bastards show up in Atlanta a month later! :)
Seriously - all I could think of when I saw the site in Xi'an is 'what wasteful government spending that was! This emperor was crazy! If he spent half as much on his tomb and more on his people, well... ' haha
I can't wait to go. My youngest Munchkin is obsessed with all things Chinese. She's watched the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics over a dozen times, and when we were at Epcot in January, she introduced herself to everyone in the China section. We can't wait to go see this exhibit.
I just love my daughter-old relics and she considers them "little bastards"! She comes home on Wednesday just in time for her birthday on friday. I plan to celebrate! Will see you on Saturday for cookies and fun
Great seeing you today. Have a great Christmas.
An exhibit of the Terracotta Wariors is moving around in Europe too. At the moment it is in Maaseik, in Belgium. We'll be visiting it soon. I've heard it's really worth while, so I'm looking forward to it.
I hope you had a very nice Christmas!
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