What's on at ACM?

Last Friday evening, i made a trip to the Asian Civilizations Museum to see a special exhibition, Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and His Legacy.This is the first exhibition of the actual terracotta warriors held in Singapore, as well as the first presentation in Southeast Asia. The exhibition will be held till 16 Oct 2011 @ Special Exhibitions Gallery, ACM Empress Place. Admission is $8 for this special exhibition, however, there's a special discounted price on Friday evenings (7-9pm) at $4.

This exhibition offers us a glimpse of the huge terracotta army buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China, his life and influence on later burials.

At the entrance of the special gallery, there's a long model made of fiberglass, showcasing the terracotta warrior and horse production.

The model shows the division of labor required to create the terracotta figures. Many workers were needed, and detailed planning, close coordination and strict supervision were essential. Did you notice one worker being punished?

From the marks on the figures, it seems that palace as well as private workshops made the figures. Moulds helped speed the process and ensure figures were similar in size. However, variation was necessary to create a more realistic arm: countless hairstyles can be seen on the warriors. figures made by the artists from the palace factories show better workmanship. But the private potters were more adept at representing facial traits of people from different regions.

 The General and his warriors: