A set of Qin Dynasty warrior dolls originally purchased by a honeymooning couple in the 1980s and kept in the family until recently sourced for Studio Zagara.
Set in Xi’an, China, the famously enigmatic Terracotta Army is a large funerary collection made up of between 6000-8000 warriors of diverse military stature, assembled in the first emperor of Imperial China Qin Shi Huang Di’s mausoleum to protect him in the afterlife.
The extraordinary conservation of the tomb’s contents, discovered only in 1974 by a family of local farmers, the terra cotta warriors are believed to have been originally brightly painted. When they were first brought out by archeologists, their colourful coating faded within minutes of being exposed to the open air.
Due to the process of oxidation preceding over two millennia, they are now the well known shades of brown we have come to know today.
In order for this vast quantity of figures to be produced, it has been posited by numerous scholars that moulds would have been cast for different body parts and then, upon being assembled, thinner layers of clay were placed over the semidried figures by artisans of higher skill in order to add discerned individuality and rank, with details ranging from facial features to musculature to armour plates.
Only then could the warriors be fired and fully dried.
The two here are likely a high ranking general and an infantry soldier due to their posture, armour and hairstyles.
Generals of a higher rank typically adorned a He crown, a cap with a split peak that was secured with a long fastener and had two pheasant feathers inserted in the back, a symbol of their quarrelsome nature. The posture also denotes a man who was not required not carry any weaponry, his hands gracefully folded before him with his shoulders held back calmly and confidently.
Infantry foot soldiers, on the other hand, were typically depicted with an exposed bun wore tightly to the right side, heavier armour over the body, including the shoulders and hands clenched — to denote their readiness for battle and likely to act as inserts for any of the bronze spears that would have been inserted through the fist. It is worth noting, too, that this was actual weaponry that was customarily used by the army. The blades have been so well preserved over the last 2200 years that they still present lethal potential to this day.
A rather sinister tale lies beneath this ancient marvel, making these warriors all the more eerie and alluring.
Due to their knowledge of the treasures and other burial goods housed with the emperor as well as various secrets pertaining to this mammoth site, all conscripted labourers, an estimated 700,000, were sealed inside the tomb, left for dead with unearthed mass graves demonstrating the demanding physical pressures they suffered.
In addition, his unexpected death in 210 BCE led the emperor's son to decree that it would be inappropriate for Qin Shi Huang Di’s childless concubines to be free, so they were ordered to follow him into the grave; some say alive.
This is only but a strong speculation as the private burial chamber of the emperor has not yet been opened for fear of the contents’ stability upon being exposed to open air as well as the safety of excavators as high levels of mercury appear throughout the entirety of the tomb.
Be that as it may, these prisoners would follow him into the afterlife, reanimating to serve the First Emperor for eternity.
