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Civil Official
Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)
Not on view
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.
#201. Official
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