Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Unarmored General
Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)
Not on view
This unarmored figure can be identified as a military officer by his size (larger than most) and headdress (a distinctive cap split into two folded peaks). The cap may refer to the “pheasant’s-tail cap” recorded in Chinese historical texts, in which case two feathers would have been inserted at the back. Such caps became customary adornment for military officers, owing to the pheasant’s combative nature. It is still uncertain which of the figures’ features indicate their ranks and responsibilities, though the bows on the armors of some terracotta generals are speculated to signal rank.
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