"The First Emperor" au British Museum

KNEELING ARCHER, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China. All photography British Museum. © Copyright The Trustees of The British Museum

The First Emperor, which opened in mid-September is the British Museum’s latest blockbuster exhibition. It features the largest group of important objects relating to the First Emperor ever to be loaned abroad by the Museum of the Terracotta Army and the Cultural Relics Bureau of Shaanxi Province in Xi’an, China. The majority of the 120 objects loaned come from the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi (b. 259 BC), the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, a tomb complex which is unparalleled in terms of its extent and magnificence. The site was discovered by chance by villagers in 1974, and excavation has continued at the site since that date. The exhibition features around a dozen complete terracotta warrior figures of different ranks. An extraordinary feat of mass-production, each figure was given an individual personality although they were not intended to be portraits.

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CIVIL OFFICIAL, terracotta with pigment, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Institute, Xi’an, China

ARMOURED GENERAL, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

BRONZE CRANE, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China