Picture of the Week # 341 "The Non Conformist"  Xi'An, China 2015 Signed & Stamped

I can now cross off the Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi'An from my bucket list. I had gone to Shanghai for my first one man show of "MAO to NOW" in China at the ArtN Space gallery. Afterwards, I took a few days off to fly to Xi'An to see these extraordinary works of art that laid buried for over 2,600 years. Emperor Qin who is responsible for building the Great Wall of China had these 8,000 life size soldiers sculpted for his tomb. In 1974 when two peasants were digging for a well they uncovered one of the most spectacular wonders of the world. Slowly, piece by piece they have been restoring these magnificent statues. All had originally been painted and were holding weapons or shields. The statues are housed in a giant stadium like structure where they rebuild these masterpieces. You can see the holes where the missing pieces will eventually go. There are row after row of these soldiers lined up in pits along with their horses. For some reason this one warrior was laying face down on what I presumed to be sacks of terra cotta. I found this image enlightening as to the process of restoration but also as an image that fits with my sensibilities towards pictures that make you smile. And this one certainly did. When I posted it as my Picture of the Week I had some difficulty with the internet at the hotel so I am not sure everyone on my weekly list got to see it. Now that I am home, I will add it to this week's image just to make sure as I think it deserves to be seen.