Artist: Unknown
Title: Qin Shi Huang Di's tomb
Material: Earth and various materials
Site: Lintong in Shaanxi, China
Current Location:
Period/Date: Competed shortly after 207 B.C.E.
Iconography/Iconology: In China, it is axiomatic that an ancestor will
be reborn into the heaven realms. Because of this, the deceased is provided
with all the necessities in his or her afterlife including vessels for food,
wine and ritual offerings, clothing, musical instruments, accompanying servants
in sculptural form and so on. As reported in traditional literature, this
tomb, built for the emperor, Qin Shi Huang, contained a map of China with
rivers of flowing mercury. This suggested that the emperor took all of China
with him to his afterlife. The tomb was guarded by huge armies of life-size
terracotta (fired clay) soldiers, buried in formation. The magnitude of
the site is attested by the fact that the main eastern pit alone contained
more than 6000 figures. Excavations continue to the present day and will
probably go on for decades.
Stylistic Comments:
