Li Qingfa (Chinese, B. 1954) and Jiang Weijie (Chinese, 20th C.) "erra Cotta Warriors - Arrow Shooter" Signed lower left. Mixed Media on Silk. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.N. F.s. 0,45 The Terracotta Warriors stamp issued November 19, 1997. Restoring the more than 8,000 terra-cotta warrior statues discovered in the mausoleum of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is a monumental task requiring extraordinary skill and patience. Working with an inventory of literally thousands of fragments, archeologists and technicians have worked 19 years mending the broken soldiers. It's a lucky day when workers find just one piece that fits. To this day, long piles of fragments still lie at the western end of the site, awaiting connective surgery. More terra-cotta warriors are buried beneath them, waiting for their own resurrection. To help with the painstaking assembly, each piece is marked with a special code, indicating where the item was found and to what statue it might belong. If a perfect fit cannot be achieved, as is often the case, the piece goes back into inventory. An immense data base is being compiled on all statues, bronzes and other artifacts found at the site. Their images, descriptions and restoration history are being stored via computer for future reference. Interestingly, each warrior's face is unique. Many experts believe the emperor ordered actual soldiers from his honor guard to act as models, so they could continue to protect him through eternity. Before the rule of Qin Shi Huang it was customary in China to bury living people in tombs, rather than their likenesses. No doubt these soldiers were more than willing to pose, since they knew that the finished creations would be buried, instead of themselves. Image Size: 11 x 9.5 in. Overall Size: 14 x 12 in. Unframed. (B15783)