What is Chinese tomb art? Compare two terracotta figures from the Qin dynasty.

Terracotta army reproduction in one-third scale.

INTRODUCTION:

• Tomb art

  • History
  • Function
    • Afterlife use
    • Religious sacrifice
  • Legacy
    • Time capsule – better insight of ancient China society

• Tomb sculpture – Qin Shihuangdi tomb

  • Brief description
  • Terracotta warriors – Human victims replaced with pottery substitutes
    • Mass quantities
    • Life size
    • Look unique

• MAIN POINT: Result of Mass production and standardizing society
  • Kneeling archer & Armored general

How were they made

Mechanism of crossbow

BODY:

• Difference

  • Unique facial features and body parts
  • Costume
  • Hair bun
  • Body gestures – suggest holding something
    • Crossbow and arrows
      • Position: Archer
      • Interchangeable
    • Bronze sword
      • Position: General

• Similarity

  • Making process
    • Material – baked clay
    • Heads and 4 limbs created separately
    • Inscription
      • Hierarchy production system
  • Missing weapons mass produced
    • Large quantities
    • Precision
    • Moulding

CONCLUSION:

• Terracotta warriors reflect Chinese art and culture rely on complex mass production system

• Protection &Reservation

  • Color
  • Qin Shihuangdi’s Mausoleum

BIBLOGRAPHY

Lethar Ledderose. Ten Thousand Things: Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 51-73.

Jessica Rawson, ed., The British Museum Book of Chinese Art (London: British Museum Press, 1999), 134-149.

“House Model,” Asian Art Museum,  accessed March 11, 2016, http: //www.education.asianart.org/explore-resources/artwork/house-model