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  • The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army

  • Until Apr 6
    • Recommended
  • This event has finished
  • British Museum, 44 Great Russell St, London, WC1B 3DG
  • Rating:

  • By Sara O’Reilly

    Posted: Mon Sep 10 2007

  • The story being uncovered at the burial site of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, which was discovered by chance in 1974, is a clearly a seductive one: the British Museum had taken a record 105,000 advance bookings for this show as we went to press – but 500 tickets will be reserved each day for those who turn up on spec.

    The sense of ongoing mystery plays a big part in the exhibition’s appeal. Only a tiny portion of the archaelogical site has been excavated and it will probably be generations before Qin Shi Huangdi’s actual tomb is explored. Visitors to the BM show will never know whether the inscription written 100 years after the emperor’s death describing how his burial chamber contained replicas of China’s rivers and seas fashioned from mercury so they appear to flow, and crossbows with arrows rigged and ready to shoot  any intruder – is true (although scientists have discovered unusually high levels of mercury in the soil of the tomb mound).

    Those who are most attracted by the idea of the 7,000 terracotta full-size terracotta warriors discovered in three pits might find the exhibition disappointing.  Unlike previous shows devoted to the terracotta warriors, this one is less about sheer visual spectacle than the way that the ongoing excavations are increasing our knowledge of the emperor and his times in which he lived (he was born in 259 BC, 64years after the death of Alexander the Great and died in 210BC 109 years before the birth of Julius Caesar.

    Alongside a small group of warriors (infantrymen, archers, officers and generals) are two terracotta musicians, an acrobat, a strongman and two civil officials. There are bronze water birds (three of the 46 discovered in what would have been a serene underground tableau). Disconcertingly, these ancient artefacts  are indistinguishable from the tastefully-aged offerings available in upmarket twenty-first century garden centres. A half-scale bronze carriage embellished with  gleaming silver and gold is pulled by four half-size terracotta horses.

    There are numerous smaller artefacts, such as coins, weapons and vessels, and there’s a fair bit of reading to take in. The text brings the emperor  to life, building a picture of a hugely gifted military and civil leader, a self-publicist who travelled to the margins of his vast kingdom to erect inscriptions on the mountains telling everyone  how great he was. By the time you arrive at the figures that are the exhibitions centrepiece  you’re well primed to appreciate the exhibition’s focus on detail over spectacle and to enjoy the individuality of the terracotta figures.

    Although they were mass produced, the figures were hand finished with individual hairstyles, facial hair and clothes (recent research has revealed that soldiers then had no uniform and had to provide whatever kit they could afford).

    The exhibition is in the museum’s spectacular Reading Room,the temporary transformation making it possible to stage an exhibition on a scale that the BM would otherwise have difficulty accommodating. The beautiful domed ceiling soaring above is  a real plus, reducing the sense of claustrophobic that can accompany a dimly lit historical blockbuster .

    Qin Shi Huangdi united the area’s waring states and having unified the country that would become China, believed himself divinely destined to rule it, and the rest of the universe, for ever. It’s a concept that seems extraordinary to us, now but  in one way the first emperor’s influence does endure:  for us, 2,000 years later his determination to have his earthly kingdom reproduced for his use after death opens a window on another world.
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4 comments

  1. Posted by Nops Shotton on 05 Mar 2008 17:17

    Please could you tell me how I can buy one concession ticket on line, and whether there are definite time slots for the mornings and afternoons for early April weekdays.

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  2. Posted by Rob Burton on 24 Sep 2007 20:49

    Thanks Mark.

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  3. Posted by Mark Fisher on 24 Sep 2007 14:03

    Rob.
    It was at the Royal Horticultural Society Halls in Pimlico as I recall.

    Report this comment as inappropriate
  4. Posted by Rob Burton on 23 Sep 2007 17:20

    I remember visiting an exhibition of the terracotta warriors in London about 20 years ago, but can't recall where it was held. Can someone jog my memory?

    Report this comment as inappropriate

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  • Details

  • British Museum,44 Great Russell St, London, WC1B 3DG
    , UK
    Geo: 51.518971, -0.126475
  • Box office 020 7323 8181
  • Category: Museums & Attractions
  • Times: Mon-Wed 10am-5.30pm; Thur-Sun 10am-8.30pm (selected galleries only, ring for details)
  • Price: £12, concs £10, accompanied under-16s free. Booking recommended but 500 tickets will be reserved for sale on the day
  • Tube: Holborn/Russell Square

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You should know that I am attracted to people who are exceptional, HONEST, intelligent, spontaneous, and open to new ideas, learnings and...

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