CHINESE CLAY SOLDIERS ARRIVED
Posted by Eszter Hermann · Feb 2, 2015

More than 2000 years ago, the first emperor of China had buried thousands of terracotta soldiers with himself. Some of them have arrived to Budapest and will be on display in the Museum of Applied Arts from 6 February.

In 1974 a group of peasents digging a well found fragments of a clay sculpture. That was the first step in one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the modern age. It was the unexcavated tomb of the first emperor of China in 221 B.C., Qin Shi Huangdi with an entire army of life-size terracotta soldiers and horses, interred for more than 2,000 years. Since the appearance of the first evidence, archeologists have found a complex of underground vaults on a 57-square-kilometre territory. There are about 600 pits located, a few of them have been difficult to access.

photo:templetons.com

There are long columns of these unique terracotta soldiers with topknots, tunics or vests and goatees, standing in formation. The site that has been turned into a museum, the mausoleum of the emperor is one of the most popular tourist attractions in China, competing with the Great Wall or Beijing’s Forbidden City. The Terracotta Army was buried with Qin Shi Huangdi in 210-209 B.C., with an aim to be in protection of the first emperor. According to estimates, three large pits contain more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, but there are other, non-military figures such as acrobats, officials or musicians found in other pits at the site.

photo:globeimages.net

Those who have already had the chance to visit the incredible mausoleum in China are lucky, but fortunately, everyone has the opportunity to get a glimpse of it. There have been a number of temporary exhibitons all around the world, part of the Terracotta Army is travelling around. From 6 February at the Museum of Applied Arts, we’ll also have the opportunity to learn a bit more about the Chinese treasure. The clay warriors are from the material of the exhibition “Treasures of Ancient China” and will definitely be the best-known pieces of the exhibition in Budapest including over 150 artefacts. One of them is the kneeling warrior that is said to have held a wooden sword in its hand, while the other is a standing statue, probably armed with a spear.

photo:mno.hu

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