"Very Very Large" Ancient China Exhibition in Toronto June 2010 May Include Terracotta Warriors

UPDATE 07/01/10 - The CBC is now reporting that "final negotiations are underway to stage an exhibition of the famed Qin dynasty soldier figures." So unless some major problem occurs we should have a warriors announcement on January 27.

Heritage Key has just got confirmation that a major archaeology exhibition on Ancient China will be coming to the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, this June.

Calling it a “very very large exhibition” Dr. Dan Rahimi, the museum’s Vice-President for Gallery Development, confirmed it in an interview with Heritage Key this morning. It will be held in the same gallery that was used for the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit that just wrapped up.

The exhibition will be announced at a press conference on January 27. It will focus on the period after the Chinese Bronze Age which ended 771 BC.

Toronto Star entertainment columnist Martin Knelman, citing anonymous sources, wrote a story this morning saying that an exhibit is in the works. He is reporting that it will include 14 of the fabled Terracotta Warriors.

“The stars of the show will be 14 of the life-size terra cotta soldiers (6 feet tall and more than 300 pounds each)

I talked to Dr. Rahimi about this claim. “Some people have said yes we can’t announce until later this month,” he said. “We don’t have a signed contract yet... I really can’t talk about it.”

It makes sense that Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Warriors will visit Toronto. They were created in the post- Bronze Age period. Right now there is a Terracotta warriors display on at the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC. It is scheduled to end at the end of March 2010. 

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Owen Jarus

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Owen Jarus is a freelance writer based in Toronto ,Canada. He has written articles on archaeology for a variety of media outlets including The Canadian Press newswire (CP), U of T Magazine, The Mississauga News and The Guelph Mercury. Education: BA from the University of Toronto in History, Geography and Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations.