Terra Cotta Warriors

Gentle Reader,

I will take a moment to backtrack to Xi'an and our experience there with the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses...

This was one of the most profoundly moving and artistic journeys I have ever had.  The actual excavated pits were simply phenomenal to observe.  The artistry here... the fact that every warrior's face is individual...was especially moving.  I think I expected that the warriors faces would be stoic, set for battle.  Instead, the faces emanate a feeling of pride and honor, of feeling of joy.  Some even have slight smiles on their faces. 

I was reminded of the sites we visited in Turkey, where actual archaeologists were working live pits.  I remember asking them what they were listening to on their ipods.  The Beatles was their reply.

There is such painstaking and careful work going on here still in Xi'an.  The attention to detail and the gentleness with which each clay figure is handled is almost sacred in nature.  We were surprised to observe the softer color palette that originally covered each warrior.  Again, the attention to detail in the painting was spectacular, very much a labor of love. 

On the way to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, we stopped at an artist's factory. President Obama and Michelle Obama visited this factory, too.  Beautiful work there, including an embroidered rendition of a Klimt painting.

By the way, one of the two original farmers who discovered the Terra Cotta Warriors was on hand at the museum to meet, greet, and sign copies of his book.

A wonderful experience...

Namaste,
Marianne/Bailing