Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an

22. Some Heads Missing

The clay was firstly panned and crushed into a malleable form is suitable for molding. The mold was started from the bottom of the body. The feet of the warrior were formed on a square base, and legs were then added. When half-dry, clay was coiled into 3 to 5 cm ropes wound upwards to create the hollow upper body. This was carefully smoothed using a paddle on the exterior pressing against an anvil or block on the inside wall. Next, the half finished head and hands were pasted onto the body. The structure of the base prevented the figure from collapsing. Fashioning heads represented a complicated process. Facial features were achieved using a mold, with piling and sculpting to form the back. Ears were pasted to the heads prior to adding sculpted or molded hair buns.