Terracotta Warriors

Our Son and DDIL are at the moment in China en-route to Xi'An to see the Terracotta Army.

Something that has been on my "Bucket List" for quite some time.

However -
while they are being distracted by Great Walls and Forbidden Cities and places best admitted to after the fact...

DH and I took ourselves off to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne

Where the Terracotta Warriors had come to Us!



Melbourne: 24th May - 13th October 2019

150 other Ancient Chinese Treasures dating back more that 3000 years, sourced from Museums and Shaaxni Archaeology Sites are also on display

Eight Warrior Figures, along with Two full size Horses stand silent sentinel, their timber Weapons long gone.

Clever use of mirrored backs in the display cases give an impression of a much bigger army.

Two Half-scale Bronze Chariots, depicting those used to Inspect the troupes on the Battlefield were found.

Faithful replicas have been made as these are so precious, they do not leave China.

Other Funerary items are on display -

Colourful miniatures of the everyday life to assist in the afterlife

And then there are The Birds ....

Follow the flight of these Porcelain Starlings through the exhibition

Wheeling and Dancing - suspended from the ceiling - Until they fill the vault above

Entitled "Murmation"  the phenomenon where thousands of Starlings fly in intricately coordinated patterns across the sky

There are 10,000 Birds in this Artwork

The next room contained a mountain of Porcelain Peony Flowers -

I know how much work goes into making these blooms in Sugarpaste so I was fascinated to look closer.
I was intrigued by how these were coloured...

Like the Silk mural that encircled the room, and the Starlings that flew overhead, they were all placed carefully on the floor, sprinkled with different coloured Gunpowder (like fireworks)

and in a controlled environment in a warehouse here in Docklands (Melbourne)

With many cameras to capture the event -

Set it alight!

The Exhibitions last instalment was a panoramic video showing the process...

You could say it went off with a Bang!



The Terracotta Warriors - Guardians of Immortality and Cai Guo-Qiang exhibition runs until October 13th 2019 and is well worth the Visit.