Terra-cotta pillars of Xi'an community

Leah Garchik

Published 4:02 pm, Thursday, February 21, 2013

There are 100 other treasures that are lovingly displayed in "China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy," which was celebrated at the Asian Art Museum with a Wednesday night gala, but it's really the warriors themselves that are the showstoppers.

I'm sure many in the crowd had seen the figures in China, where they were found surrounded by thousands of others. But for me, they were a surprise, smooth-skinned, with a variety of facial expressions and naturalistic body poses. There was none of the stiff fierceness of Western military statuary; these figures looked as if they could come alive (there were two humans who were dressed as living statuary) and talk with you, as if the more than 2,000 years between you and the works were inconsequential.

The Asian is usually a serene place. But in the gallery before the dinner (a Chinese masterpiece by McCalls), the speeches, the traditional dances and martial arts performances, was a hubbub of noise. There was no need for hush around exalted figures; rather the figures seemed to be part of vivid conversation, as though they were guests at the gala, too.

Their hands made gestures, their eyebrows conveyed emotions. Welcome warriors, the museum came to life.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/garchik/article/Terra-cotta-pillars-of-Xi-an-community-4298614.php#ixzz2LeoLpVEH