Early this month, I visited San Francisco Asian Art Museum to see the special exhibit "China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy" (February 22 - May 27), which included a small formation of eight famed terracotta warriors and two horses from the mausoleum of Qin Dynasty's first emperor, Qin Shihuang (259-210 BCE), in Xi'an, China, and some other fascinating artifacts, including swords, bronze ceremonial utensils, and a pair of carriage replicas.
Seeing these vivid sculptures up and close was quite gratifying. Each of those ancient warriors had a vivid face and distinct feature, with their uniform and their hairdo to presumably reflecting their ranks. These horses were regal, substantial, yet graceful. This small army, in the dimly lit exhibition hall, were oppressive enough to make me shudder.
I particularly liked the replica of carriages in the lobby. They were of reduced size nonetheless contained every bit of the carriages and horses' harnesses. The warm yellow bronze and the green rust patina were both lustrous and ancient. The shape of the carriage was quite unusual and felt exceptionally beautiful to my eyes.
The bits of the harnesses were deftly presented by incorporating line drawings to demonstrate the functions of those parts. Other artifacts, large and small were equally stimulating and beautiful to behold.
This exhibit was not of exhaustive scale but large enough to give us a very brief survey of the archeology discovery surrounding the excavated mausoleum.
As mentioned in my previous blog, Famed Terracotta Warriors and Their Intriguing Successors, excavation sites and the half-buried warriors, horses, and chariots in Xi'an are only a portion of the vast mausoleum site, whose full extent has not been fully mapped out. In 2007, I had the chance to visit the excavation site and saw these astonishing displays below:
Anyone who wants to take a quick glimpse of this exhibit should take the advantage before the show ends.
Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- Last Call - "The Girl With A Pearl Earring" in De Young Museum, San Francisco
- Famed Terracotta Warriors and Their Intriguing Successors
- Weep for Ancient City Walls of Xi'an
- Ruins in Sanxingdui (Three-Star Mound) and Jinsha (Gold Sands), Sichuan, China
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