Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE D: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor; Middle-Ranking Officer
Image View:
Detail, from the side, showing the headdress which indicates a middle-ranking officer
Creator:
unknown (Chinese sculptors)
Location:
repository: Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Lintong Qu (third level subdivision), Shaanxi, China)
GPS:
34.385 109.273056
Date:
ca. 221-206 BCE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Chinese
Style Period:
Qin
Work Type 1:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
terracotta
Technique:
casting (process); fabrication attributes: ceramics; modeling (forming)
Subjects:
death or burial; funerary art; military or war; rulers and leaders; Qin shi huang, Emperor of China, 259 B.C.-210 B.C.
Description:
The figures were originally painted with bright pigments, but the paint has flaked off when exposed to air. The figures are life-size and were constructed in parts (heads, arms, legs, and torsos) which were then assembled with clay slip. The middle -ranking officer has a flat hat, square-toed shoes and ornate scarves around the neck which possibly imply his commissioned rank. From the position of his hands and arms, it is clear that this figure once held real weapons. The majority of these weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army or have rotted away. Despite this, over 40,000 bronze items of weaponry have been recovered. (Source: Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum [official website]; www.bmy.com.cn/2015n ew/index.htm)
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module D: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-CH-MFQE-C37
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor; Middle-Ranking Officer