The Army of Terracotta Warriors of China

565 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Terracotta warriors

The Terracotta Warriors of China are an astonishing accomplishment even in today's setting. The detail of the statues and number of warriors that were made are a monumental feat. Made by 87 hand selected master artisans with red clay, each very distinct from the other during 221 BC to 231 BC make this even more amazing. The tools they lacked and the materials available at the time adds to the astonishment of today's specialist. Hand tools were used to carve details in to the clay and paint was used to add color to create a life like appearance.

The Terracotta Warriors where very unique in the way that they were constructed. They were built from the bottom up, using ‘Clay Coiling’, adding layers upon layers of clay to the individual masterpieces. ‘Clay Coiling’ consists of: Taking a flat slab of clay, cutting it into long narrow strips, than rolling the strips until they where “soft and smooth”. Finally, after the cutting and rolling is complete one (or more) of the artisans would take the coiled strips of clay and add them to the statue, then other artisans would smooth out the roundness of the layer and then begin to shape designs into the clay. Then they would bake the clay men in a type of kiln. After the men were fired in the kiln, they where fully painted in bright colors and sealed the paint with lacquer. The construction, painting, and lacquering processes are interesting but the uniqueness of this garrison is also very interesting.

The Army of Terracotta Warriors are the only army of it’s kind. The only army of 8,000 that had 870 people working on it for 12 years. The only infantry to have all of it’s individuals have unique features. Each one crafted totally different that their comrades. The creators’ did not use...

... middle of paper ...

...d timeless.

Works Cited

"The Terracotta Army." ChinaHighlights. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. http://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/terracotta-army/.

"Video -- Terra Cotta Warriors -- National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/history-kids/terracotta-warriors-mazzatenta-kids/.

“Terracotta Warriors, Terracotta Army, Terra Cotta Soldiers, Xian China." Terracotta Warriors, Terracotta Army, Terra Cotta Soldiers, Xian China. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/.

"China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts." China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. http://www.artsmia.org/terracotta-warriors/

Show More
Related

  • The Amida Buddha in Context

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The process by which this particular statue was created involved using a method developed by Kaikei, a Japanese sculptor. It was a groundbreaking process that involved carving different pieces of wood separately and then joining them together (“Amida”). Instead of using a single object for creating a sculpture, multiple parts could be used to make the statue easier to construct and put together. After the parts were all joined together, the statue was covered in a lacquer finish and gilt was added to the face to give it the golden look.

    Read More

  • Buddhist Art Analysis Essay

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    The two pieces of art that I have chosen to compare is the ‘Green Tara 14th century’ and ‘Tara 19th century’ which are both from the collection at the Rubin Museum of Art. The Green Tara sculpture is from central Tibet and is made of Gilt copper alloy. The Tara 19th century is from Kham province in Tibet and is painted with pigments on a piece of cloth.

    Read More

  • Ritual Wine Vessel

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Shang Dynasty invented and, over the years, perfected the technique of casting a bronze vessel from a clay mold assembly, which this wine vessel has also been made from using those techniques (Cantor). This mold was formed around a model of the vessel and was then cut into sections that were carved or impressed in the desired design, in this case the braided or grid design, on the inner or outer surfaces. The decorated clay piece-mold was then fired and reassembled around a clay core. Small bronze spacers were used to hold the piece-mold and the clay core apart. Then, molten bronze was poured into the mold. Using this piece-mold casting technique helped the bronze worker to achieve greater sharpness and definition in any intricate design

    Read More

  • Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di’s Mausoleum

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    The First Emperor’s Army: An Important Chinese Find. Archaeology. Volume 28, No. 4 (pp. 267-269)

    Read More

  • Empress Wu and Buddhism: A Symbiotic Relationship

    2294 Words  | 5 Pages

    Smarr, Janet. “Emperor Wu”. Making of the Modern World 12. Ledden Auditorium, La Jolla, CA. 17 Feb. 2012. Lecture.

    Read More

  • Winged Victory: The Nike of Samothrace

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charles Champoiseau uncovered pieces of masterfully worked Parian marble in April of 1863.1 On Samothraki, the island from which Poseidon is said to have watched the fall of Troy, these segments of stone came together to form four main sections: a torso, a headless bust, a section of drapery, and a wing.2 The sections were shaped to be assembled though the use of cantilevering and metal dowels, allowing the sculptor to extend beyond medium’s gravitational limitations (fig. 2). Just one year later, the pieces were assembled (and those missing were remodeled), and the Greek goddess Nike was revealed at the Louvre.

    Read More

  • A review on Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    After his army's victory in Thermopylae, King Xerxes fervently wanted more information on the rare soldiers that confronted his limitless army, those reckless Spartans that faced insurmountable odds and refused to surrender even though their only alternative was gruesome death.

    Read More

  • Sculpture: The Betrayal and Arrest of Christ

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    If you look closely, you can see the scrapings of lines made from the tool used to sculpt the stone. In addition, if you look close, you can see that at one time this sculpture was completely covered vibrant colors. At first, I was not aware of what polychrome or gilding was, but apparently, it is in reference to the color or painting of a piece and the technique used. I only realized this while looking under the soldier's clothing. This tells me that the soldiers were dressed in blue uniforms. The reason for the loss of color of the sculpture is unknown to me, but I could figure that since it was created in the thirteenth century, that time has taken its toll, or maybe at one point someone had stripped it of its color.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Monumental Statue Of The Pharaoh Ramesses II

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    The medium is Granodiorite and the technique used was sunken relief, which is a technique were the sculptor chisels deep outlines below the stone’s surface. The sculpture does not seem to be originally painted. The Egyptians created coloristic effects through contrasting shadows and highlights. They used natural pigments to color some sculptures, however this was not the case. There are deeply cut areas in the back of the statue that create deep shadows and the use of natural light helps to bring up the highlights. The granodiorite has natural colors that helped the sculptor show more of those shadows and highlights. The statue is mostly in a warm hue and it may be caused because of the lighting inside the museum. These warm colors make the details stand out more. At a closer look of the structure there are different colors that can be easily identified, such as white, yellow, brown, black, gray and small spots of orange. The statues seems to be carved in one piece. There are no signs indicating it

    Read More

  • King Khafre Seated

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)

    Read More

  • A Brief Glimpse Of Immortality

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    The votive statues were created by worshipers of the ancient Mesopotamian gods. They were crafted out of materials such as limestone, alabaster, gypsum, and other such materials (Votive Statues). These statues were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna. The creators of these statues created them in their own likeness to be held at the Square Temple, a place of worship to their gods. It was the worshipers belief that the gods would bless these statues and in turn, bless the creators (Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, 2004). Worship of the gods was a huge part of the culture of Ancient Mesopotamia, as such these votive statues played a major role in that culture.

    Read More

  • Roman Art: Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    The “Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius” was one of the lucky bronze pieces from Ancient Rome. It was lucky because the Ancient Romans often melted their bronze creations to make new ones. While this helped supply artists with material for new statues, the melting of statues has left modern cultures without knowledge of possibly hundreds of Ancient Rome’s finest pieces. Thankfully this statue survived is now at the Museo Capitolino in Rome, where it is an inside exhibit to keep safe from the harsh elements and pollution.

    Read More

  • Idealism In Ancient Greek Art

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Perhaps one of the most defining and easily identifiable aspects of the ancient Greek culture was the immortalization of humans and gods in sculpture. Sculpture had existed in the world for thousands of years before the ancient Greeks made their stake in the art, but the Greeks added an entirely new set of aspects to their sculptures. Unlike the Egyptian and Mesopotamian sculpture centuries earlier, the Greeks set forth not just to capture the image of a man but to capture that which made him a man. The Greeks set in place three base tenants to display the tone of a sculpture. Through the use of Humanism, Realism, and Idealism the ancient Greeks were able to capture humans and gods forever in marble.

    Read More

  • greek vase painting

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    In modern society, Greek pottery is considered an art which is regarded as much for its aesthetic splendor as its historical significance. However, the role of pottery in ancient Greek culture was far more functional as its primary use was for the transportation and storage of such liquids as water and wine (Encyclopedia Britannica). Due to the durability of the fired clay material, Greek pottery is the only remaining art form that allows us to explore the evolution of this ancient culture. Through that examination, three distinct stylistic periods have been unveiled: Geometric, Orientalizing and Archaic. This analysis will detail these distinct periods as well as three design techniques prevalently used: black figure, red figure and white ground

    Read More

  • The Art of Sculpting

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sculpting is the art of working with stone, bronze, and wood by chipping at it to form a beautiful piece of art. The art of sculpting was known thousands of years ago in the time of “THE OLD STONE AGE.” During this time the people thought that they would make the sculptures to praise their gods, kings, queens, and goddesses. The people also made sculptures of animals they believed that the animals would see this and protect them from other harmful animals.

    Read More

More about The Army of Terracotta Warriors of China

Open Document