Damages to terracotta warrior won't affect exhibition: expert

Chinese experts have said that an exhibition of terracotta warriors in Philadelphia in the United States will finish on March 4 as scheduled despite damage to one of the exhibits, thepaper.cn reports.

Experts from Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center made the remarks after an incident in which a thumb was broken off one of the terracotta warrior statues on display. They say that procedures for a damages claim won't be initiated until the exhibits are transferred back to China.

[Photo: Weibo account of China.org.cn]

The exhibition hosted by the Franklin Institute Science Museum showcased more than a hundred objects from Shaanxi, including terracotta warriors, bronze weapons, and gold, silver, and jade wares. 

According to China Daily, the missing thumb was allegedly stolen by 24-year-old US man Michael Rohana after he sneaked into the exhibit hall after a party on the evening of December 21, 2017. He reportedly posed for photos of himself with his arm around the statue, and uploaded the photos to his social network account. 

The FBI's Art Crime Team tracked down Rohana and recovered the thumb broken from the statue. Rohana has been charged with multiple criminal offences that carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison. 

The host museum admitted that their security had been seriously flawed and have issued a public apology.

The 2000 year old life-size terracotta warriors were found in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. The statues were buried with the emperor so that he would have an army to protect him in the afterlife.

Audiences have been allowed to get up close to the exhibits so that they can enjoy the feeling of being close to history – a method commonly used in international exhibitions of statues from ancient Rome and Greece. 

"Our artifacts have been in more than 260 exhibitions and 60 countries over the past 40 years and we never encountered such a situation," said an employee from Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center.

Chinese representatives said they will be more cautious with how the exhibits are protected in future exhibitions.