The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army
Sponsored by Morgan Stanley
13 September 2007 – 6 April 2008
Reading Room
Admission charge
The First Emperor:
China’s Terracotta Army – a major loan
exhibition - will open at the British Museum on 13 September 2007.
The exhibition will feature the largest group of important objects
relating to the First Emperor ever to be loaned abroad by the
Museum of the Terracotta Army and the Cultural Relics Bureau of
Shaanxi Province in Xi’an, China. The exhibition will be housed in
the Reading Room at the heart of the Museum which has been
temporarily converted for this purpose.
The majority of the 120 objects loaned come
from the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi, the First Emperor of the Qin
Dynasty, a tomb complex which is unparalleled in terms of its
extent and magnificence. Arguably the most famous archaeological
site in the world, it was discovered by chance by villagers in
1974, and excavation has been ongoing at the site since that
date.
The exhibition will feature around a dozen
complete terracotta warrior figures of different ranks. An
extraordinary feat of mass-production, each figure was given an
individual personality although they were not intended to be
portraits. Displayed alongside these iconic figures will be
examples of significant recent finds which have very rarely been
seen outside of China. Since 1998 figures of terracotta acrobats,
bureaucrats, musicians and bronze birds have been discovered on
site; designed to administer to or entertain the Emperor in his
afterlife they are of crucial importance to our understanding of
his attempts to control the world even in death.
The exhibition will demonstrate the historical
and archaeological context of these famous objects, as well as
detailing the most recent research and excavation. It will also
present a reassessment of the First Emperor himself, the man who
created China as a political entity.
Jane Portal, exhibition curator, said “The
chance discovery of the terracotta army astounded the world. This
exhibition will provide a wonderful opportunity to see these
extraordinary objects close up and to learn about an empire which
at its height was the rival of Rome and was to prove historically
more enduring.”
The exhibition, sponsored by Morgan Stanley,
provides an unrivalled opportunity to see these iconic examples of
Chinese culture in the UK. A face to face encounter with these
extraordinary objects will give the visitor a chance to understand
China’s past, its present and possible futures.
For information or images please
contact Hannah Boulton on +44 (0)20 7323 8522, hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
or
Benjamin Ward at
Brunswick Arts on +44 (0)20 7937 1297,
bward@brunswickgroup.com
Exhibition structure and
design
The exhibition will be the first to take place
in the temporarily converted Reading Room in the Museum. Exhibition
designers Metaphor have worked with the British Museum to create a
space which will capture the power and drama of the objects on
display. The exhibition will examine the First Emperor’s life, his
unification of the country and his military prowess. It will look
at his achievements, the innovations he introduced and the
monuments he constructed. The second section of the exhibition will
focus on his quest for eternal life, how he prepared to rule the
universe in death from his tomb. The exhibition will also explore
the myths and mysteries associated with this important historical
figure. Not the least of which is the fact that whilst we have a
great deal of information from the surrounding excavations, the
tomb mound of the First Emperor himself is still sealed and could
contain even greater treasures.
Further background on the First
Emperor:
The First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi,
(r.221-210BC) is a crucial figure in China’s long history. In 221
BC he unified the country to create what we now know as China, the
oldest surviving political entity in the world. The initial
construction of the Great Wall began under his reign and he
presided over the standardisation of currency and script,
representing a huge step towards the development of China as a
nation.
Preparations for the construction of the First
Emperor’s tomb complex began shortly after he became King of the
state of Qin (pronounced ‘chin’) and were left uncompleted when he
died. Though the tomb mound had long been visible above ground, the
terracotta figures came as a surprise to all when they were
discovered, as they are not mentioned in any written record.
The terracotta army was constructed to guard
the Emperor in the afterlife and to oversee military matters. But
recent finds have proved that the First Emperor was as concerned
with his civilian administration after death. In 1999, eleven
terracotta acrobats and strong men were found near to the tomb
mound, these were designed to entertain the Emperor in the
afterlife. Terracotta civil officials and scribes were found in
October 2000, and a year later a bronze bird pit was discovered
featuring life-size bronze geese, swans and cranes.
The new finds have contributed to a deeper
understanding of the First Emperor and his many achievements. He
was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. Building on
his state’s martial prowess and his organisational and strategic
skills, he succeeded in unifying of all of the ‘Warring States’
into the Qin empire. It is thought that the western name for China
probably derived from Qin, the First Emperor’s home state, which
became the name of the entire country during his rule.
Civilian and cultural achievements followed
his military success, including the establishment of a unified law
code, coinage, script and system of weights and measures. The First
Emperor also developed a centralised bureaucracy to administer the
new state. He travelled around the country he had conquered,
setting up inscriptions on stelae proclaiming his achievements,
building gigantic palaces and initiating architectural projects on
a grand scale. After a series of assassination attempts, he became
obsessed with his own immortality and tried many different potions
made for him by alchemists at court. These may have included
phosphorous and balls of mercury which he thought would secure
eternal life. They failed and the First Emperor died suddenly in
210 BC.
The First Emperor has been seen in both
positive and negative lights throughout history and his legacy is
still the subject of much debate. It is precisely because of the
limitations of the historical sources for the First Emperor that
the archaeological evidence from his tomb is so important. These
artefacts are tangible evidence of the First Emperor’s existence,
his great achievements and his vision. In fact, they have
indeed ensured that he lives forever, although perhaps not quite as
he had originally planned.
Notes to Editors:
- Tickets can be booked online at www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/firstemperor
or by calling the Box Office on +44 (0) 20 7323 8181
- An accompanying catalogue will be published by British Museum
Press. ‘The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta
Army’ edited by Jane Portal costs £40 (hardback) and £25
(paperback) and will be available from August 2007
- Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm
providing a wide range of investment banking, securities,
investment management, wealth management and credit services.
The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more
than 600 offices in 30 countries. Morgan Stanley supports an
extensive programme of cultural and educational projects, believing
firmly in the benefits these bring to the communities in which the
Firm operates. For further information about Morgan Stanley,
please visit www.morganstanley.com.
- An accompanying education programme for UK schools has been
developed in partnership with Morgan Stanley. More information is
available from the press office
A full public programme will accompany the exhibition. More
information is available from the press office.
The alterations in the Reading Room will be completely reversible
and the library currently housed in the Reading Room will be
accessible in a temporary space beyond the Enlightenment
Gallery.
This exhibition is part of a series of collaborations between the
British Museum and museums in China. The British Museum has
recently sent a number of successful touring exhibitions to venues
in China and memoranda of understanding signed with key Chinese
partner museums will ensure curatorial exchange, skill sharing and
collaboration between institutions.
- Metaphor are architects, masterplanners and exhibition
designers for museum and cultural projects - www.mphor.co.uk
- After the run at the British Museum, the exhibition will travel
to the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia between 15 November
2008 and 26 April 2009. For more information about the High,
please visit www.high.org