Some of the world’s greatest ancient archeological finds are embarking on a 7600-kilometre journey to be displayed in the biggest exhibition ever held by the Western Australian Museum.
Farmers in 1974 first discovered China’s terracotta warriors in the Shaanxi province. The figures represent the armies of Qin Shihuang, the country’s first emperor, who reigned for a decade between 220 and 210 BCE.
More than 8000 of the statues, which also guard Shihuang’s tomb, attract more than two million visitors annually.
Eight of them will soon be placed on a plane to Perth to crown a world-exclusive exhibition on the Qin dynasty that will attract interstate and international visitors, says WA Museum Boola Bardip chief executive Alec Coles.
WA Museum chief-executive Alec Coles.
Terracotta Warriors: Legacy of the First Emperor will feature 230 artefacts including the warriors, some of which were only recently unearthed and have never been seen before, even in their home country.
But the road to organising the exhibition has been long, blocked from being logistically possible for years due to the pandemic, and requiring a careful trust-building process with the artefacts’ custodians.
Coles said the idea first struck him after meeting with people working at the Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum, at a conference in China in 2018.
After making good progress, the pandemic placed negotiations on hold in 2020.
Three years later, Coles and a team from WA flew back to China to sign a deal that got the idea up and running again.
Delegates from China then visited WA to check out the museum space.
Finally, a team is giving the artefacts a final check over and packing them up to finally fly west.
“It has been an immense undertaking but obviously worthwhile,” Coles said.
“We had to build up trust before dealing with unique material like the warriors. About 40 per cent of the exhibited items have never been outside of China.”
Coles said one of his favourite pieces to be included, outside the terracotta warriors, was a bronze swan, one of 57 bronze waterbirds discovered among the warriors.
“When delegates from China came to Perth they were really impressed by our black swans,” Coles said.
The bronze swan that will be part of the new exhibition coming to the WA Museum in June.
“We took them to the zoo for a day out, and we had one of WA’s emblems following us around the whole time.
“It felt like a sign.”
Coles said the exhibition would be the museum’s most significant ever and would take a month for setup alone, not including building custom display cases, and designing graphics and a digital show to accompany the pieces.
Coles said the digital aspect was part of what made the exhibition unique, including massive projections and augmented reality.
Its design is already well under way, with Coles joking that the true test of its readiness being if he could use it without breaking it.
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“My favourite part is the section titled ‘the enduring mystery of Shihuang’s tomb,’” he said.
“His tomb has never been opened. There is concern about damaging it, but more significantly it is believed to be booby-trapped.
“This digital display explores what the inside of his tomb might look like and they ways it has been protected.”
Coles said Perth was the right place in Australia to host the artefacts, highlighting China’s ties with the state.
“It’s very exciting, and I feel privileged and humbled by the trust shown,” he said.
“It’s a great example of how we can work together to make something extraordinary.”
Terracotta Warriors: Legacy of the First Emperor will run June 28, 2025-February 22, 2026 alongside a program of complementary events and activities including cooking classes, family weekend workshops and Friday bar nights.
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