The bronze chariot of Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum. Features a rider in a two-wheeled carriage/cart with umbrella. Being led by four horses. Bronze figures with patina.
Condition: Commensurate with age.
Size: 8 1/2 x 5 x 4 3/4 in.
#3434 #2 .
In Lintong District, Xi’an, Shaanxi province of China lies the Qínshǐhuáng Líng (Mausoleum of the First Qin Dynasty Emperor), the final resting place of Qin Shi Huang. It was constructed over a period of 38 years, from 246 to 208 BC, beginning soon after the Emperor had ascended the throne when he was just 13 years old, and is situated underneath a 76-meter-tall tomb mound shaped like a truncated pyramid. The layout of the mausoleum is modeled on Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty, which was divided into inner and outer cities. With an outer circumference of nearly 4 miles, it is located in the southwest of the inner city and faces east, housing the coffin and burial artifacts in the core of the main tomb complex. The tomb itself has not yet been excavated, with archaeological explorations currently concentrated on various sites of the extensive necropolis surrounding the tomb, including the stunning Terracotta Army, which served as a garrison to the mausoleum and has yet to be completely excavated itself. An account of the construction of the mausoleum including descriptions of the tomb was given by Sima Qian in chapter six of his Records of the Grand Historian, which was written in the 1st Century BC and contains an extensive biography of Qin Shi Huang. The Second Emperor ordered that all of Qin’s concubines should accompany the dead, as well as the craftsmen who constructed the booby traps and treasure sites to keep their secrets safe, and many were buried alive when the tomb was sealed. Historical accounts claim that after Xiang Yu briefly took control of the country during the short-lived Chu-Han Contention (206-202 BC) he looted the tomb, which then suffered from a fire unintentionally set by a lost shepherd. No solid evidence of the destruction of the tomb has been found, although evidence of fire damage has been found in the pits housing the Terracotta Army. The first fragments of warriors and bronze arrowheads were discovered by Yang Zhifa, his five brothers, and Wang Puzhi who were digging a well in March of 1974. Zhao Kangmin, responsible for the Cultural Center, came to their village and bought everything that the villagers uncovered, and organized a team of archaeologists from Shaanxi to make the first excavations. Over an area of 60,000 square feet they found over 7,000 statues of warriors and horses, along with over 100 wooden battle chariots and countless weapons. The largely intact nature of the tomb makes it one of the biggest and longest surviving in the entire world, and in 1987 the mausoleum, including the Terracotta Army, was listed as a World Heritage Site. In the years since, countless wood, stone, and bronze figures of courtiers, bureaucrats, entertainers, soldiers, chariots, and various animals have been uncovered, with tens of thousands of square miles still to be explored. Reproductions of objects found in the tomb are extremely popular souvenirs and exports, and the discovery led to a burst in tourism to the area which has helped it modernize extensively.
Condition
Commensurate with age.
