Ancient China at the MIA

Not long ago we began to notice the billboards "TERRACOTTA WARRIORS; MIA."  Beneath the headline were groups of stern and intriguing clay men--from China, ancient China.   Solomon wanted to go, so did I.  When I found out that the museum's next family day was China themed, and that the exhibit was free that day, well, we had to go.  Charlotte's friend Ivy came with us (she had also noticed the billboards).   We spent the morning looking through the website for the exhibit, and got a bit of the history on China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang, the man who was buried with all this treasure.  It is intriguing to look back on these larger-than-life men.  They are often both terrible and incredibly influential.  A reformer, uniter, and mass murderer,  Qin Shihuang was both brilliant and cruel.  

Here we are outside the exhibit.  Behind the kids is a replica of some of the statuary found buried near emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb.  

Best friends, holding hands through the museum.  Both of these preschool cuties did a great job holding my hand in the Terracotta Warriors exhibit (even though our hands got sweaty--not their favorite).  I held them up to see the things that were displayed to high up, so it was a great workout for me.  Charlotte was happy to find the gold tiger we'd seen online in the preview section of the website.  It was tiny!  Ivy liked the bells.  They were beautiful green copper and very decorative.  The shape was nothing like a western bell.  A couple of them are also in the online preview.  The coins were interesting too.  Some of them looked like little swords.  Others looked much like modern coins.  They were round with a square hole in the middle.  

Solomon was interested by the fact that three dimensional triangular arrowheads were better than flat arrowheads.  There were about twenty such arrowheads on display, about the length of a pencil.  He and I also marveled at the stone armor.  Much like a mail shirt, they were made of many squares of precisely cut stone sewn together with copper.  He was also impressed by an excellently preserved swords.

Nova found the metal birds intriguing.  Held up by clear plastic stands and with a few modern pieces linking together what was left of the original metal, the cranes and ducks reminded me of dinosaur skeletons wired together.  They were all a beautiful verdigris and very life-like.      

Of course the warriors were the main event.  There were about seven warriors and two horses (the saddled horse was Nova's favorite).  They are  all carved in three dimensions with details all around.  Each face is unique.  Standing life size (or slightly larger), they are imposing statues.  The glass barriers around them allowed Charlotte and Ivy to see them easily.   

Another replica, right at the entrance of the museum.  These two replicas were the only things we could photograph from the traveling exhibit, though there are many pictures on the MIA's website. 

Nova took the camera and snapped shots of interesting artwork.  She captured one of my favorites, the Jade Mountain.  It depicts an ancient Chinese poetry conference.  (Unless Nova is in the photo, she took it).     

Ivy made a point of showing us the fountain.  Of course, we had to throw some coins in the fountain and make a wish or two.   Wishing you a wonderful week! 

P.S.  If you wish to see the Terracotta Warriors for free, there are two more Target Family Days before they depart.  Though they are not China themed, the exhibit is still free those days.