Themes in Art & Architecture: War
Artist: Unknown
Title: ‘Kneeling Archer from the Terracotta Army’
Scope of work: Participants in 2D or 3D
Key Facts
Size: Lifesize
Material: Terracotta.
Date: c210BC
Location: Museum of the Terracotta
Warriors of Qin Shihuang, Xi'an, PRC
Art Historical Terms and Concepts
Context: Emperor Qin's Tomb
Subject matter: A male archer kneels and looks alert and focused towards some unseen foe. His left hand reaches to grab what would have
been a bronze crossbow. This archer has spent over two thousand years keeping vigil along with an army of soldiers, horses and chariots, at the
The Terra-Cotta Army protects the tomb of China's first emperor
tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China. His role is to protect the Emperor in the afterlife as he had done during the Emperor’s
National Geographic
lifetime.
Workers digging a well outside the city of Xi'an, China, in 1974 struck upon one of the greatest archaeological
Colour: Research how
discoveries these
in the figures
world: were originally
a life-size painted.
clay soldier Whatfor
poised was the intended effect of the figures in a coloured condition?
battle.
The diggers notified Chinese authorities, who dispatched government archaeologists to the site. They found not one,
but thousands of clay soldiers, each with unique facial expressions and positioned according to rank. And though
largely grey today, patches of paint hint at once brightly coloured clothes. Further excavations have revealed swords,
Composition: Analyse
arrow tips, and the composition
other weapons,ofmany
the sculpture.
in pristine condition.
The soldiers are in trench-like, underground corridors. In some of the corridors, clay horses are aligned four abreast;
behind them are wooden chariots. The terra-cotta army, as it is known, is part of an elaborate mausoleum created to
Figureaccompany
handing: Discuss the depiction
the first emperor ofofarcher’s figure.
China into theLook at pose,
afterlife, gesture, to
according costume, facial expression, styling.
archaeologists.
Ying Zheng took the throne in 246 B.C. at the age of 13. By 221 B.C. he had unified a collection of warring kingdoms
and took the name of Qin Shi Huang Di- the First Emperor of Qin. During his rule, Qin standardized coins, weights,
and measures; interlinked the states with canals and roads; and is credited for building the first version of the Great
Form:Wall.
How According
would you describe the of
to writings form of this
court work? Siam Qian during the following Han dynasty, Qin ordered the
historian
mausoleum's construction shortly after taking the throne. More than 700,000 laborers worked on the project, which
was halted in 209 B.C. amid uprisings a year after Qin's death.
Materials: What associations can be made from the artist’s choice of material?
To date, four pits have been partially excavated. Three are filled with the terra-cotta soldiers, horse-drawn chariots,
and weapons. The fourth pit is empty, a testament to the original unfinished construction. Archaeologists estimate
the pits may contain as many as 8,000 figures, but the total may never be known.
Q: What does the article above reveal to us about Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di?
Q: Why might the Emperor require military protection in the afterlife?
From the Unesco website:
The army of statues bears unique testimony to the military organization in China at the time of the Warring
Kingdoms (475-221 BCE) and that of the short-lived Empire of a Thousand Generations (221-210 BCE). The direct
testimony of the objects found in situ (lances, swords, axes, halberds, bows, arrows, etc.) is evident. The
documentary value of a group of hyper realistic sculptures where no detail has been neglected - from the uniforms
of the warriors, their arms, to even the horses' halters - is enormous. Furthermore, the information to be gleaned
from the statues concerning the craft and techniques of potters and bronze-workers is immeasurable.
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