Friday 18 February 2011

The First Emperor: China's Entombed Warriors

This morning we visited The First Emperor: China's Entombed Warriors exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. The exhibition is a companion piece to the Annie Leibovitz photography exhibition; both on display under the banner of a new event named Sydney International Art Series.

In 1981, whilst we on posting to Beijing, Mt and I visited the pits where the entombed warriors were buried. That visit was only seven years after the hitherto unknown sculptures were discovered in 1974 and we both marvelled today how little we realised then the significance of the extraordinary achievement we were privileged to be viewing.

The display in Sydney amounts to a tiny percentage of what has been discovered but it still constitutes a dazzling display. It is a pity, but understandable, that the numbers attending are so great that a comfortable viewing is difficult if not impossible. We spent all of the visit jockeying for position with others in the crowd but it was worth the effort.

Judging from our visit the exhibition is attracting viewers of all ages. There were many student groups attending this morning.
Student groups on the steps of the Gallery this morning

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