Detail of a Civil Official from the Terracotta Army in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2017

Civil Official

China


Object Details

秦 陶文官俑

Title: Civil Official

Period: Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.)

Culture: China

Medium: Earthenware

Dimensions: H. 83 5/8 in. (212.4 cm); W. 20 in. (50.8 cm); D. 18 3/4 in. 47.6 cm); Wt. 617.3 lb. (280 kg)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Lent by Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum


This civil official or scribe was one of twelve figures found in a pit southwest of the First Emperor’s tomb. The pit and its contents may have represented the office of the Commandant of the Court, the highest legal bureau in the empire. The figure’s peaked cap probably represents the type worn by officials of his merit rank. His long robe is belted; many such figures wear a knife and a bag suspended from their belt, the bag presumably containing a sharpening stone. The knife was used to excise errors written on bamboo or wood documents.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/640793