The Terracotta Army marches into Cincinnati.

Nearly 41 years ago in 1974, farmers digging a well near Xi’an, China, uncovered bronze arrowheads and shards of pottery. Their discoveries led archeologists to the tomb of Ying Zheng (259-210 B.C.) the first emperor of China. It’s been called the greatest archeological discovery of the 20th century: an army of 8,000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses.

On April 20th, some of these soldiers are marching into Cincinnati for the first time.

The exhibit runs from April 20, 2018–August 12, 2018.

kathy s koops (c) 2018

According to the Cincinnati Art Museum the exhibition will feature approximately 120 individual objects, which include Terracotta figures of warriors, arms and armor, ritual bronze vessels, works in gold and silver, jade ornaments, precious jewelry, and ceramics, all drawn from the collections of art museums and archaeological institutes in Shaanxi province, China. Dating from the Pre-Qin period (770–221 BC) to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), these works of art, excavated from the emperor’s mausoleum, as well as aristocratic and nomadic tombs, will represent history, myths, and burials in ancient China.

The story behind the tomb and the soldiers is fascinating.  The actual exhibit in Xi’an (taken on a trip to China and pictured below) is overwhelming.  Just some of the 7000+ of the soldiers have been excavated.  Don’t miss the graphic on the wall picturing the colorful outfits on the original soldiers.  Exposing the terracotta air and water has damaged most of the original colors.

The Cincinnati Art Museum Exhibit offers an in-depth look at not only the soldiers but many artifacts from the tomb and is worth a visit.  Most Cincinnatians won’t see the actual dig site and this show is a great way to see the soldiers up close and personal.