An exhibit of terracotta army statues in Germany has Chinese cultural officials crying foul and threatening legal action.

The Hamburg exhibit, called "Power in Death," purports to include eight clay warrior figures and two horses identified as "authentic," Xinhua reported Thursday. The exhibit also claims the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage was one of the organizers, the state-run news agency said.

"It is a serious act of fraud and has implications for intellectual property rights," said Chen Xianqi, a spokesman for the bureau in Xi'an, which is home to the 2,200-year-old terracotta army.

"The museum of the terracotta army in Xi'an has not sent any authentic objects for display in Germany recently, and currently no such relics are on display in Germany."

Yolna Grim, spokesman for the center, acknowledged on German television the figures were copies, The Guardian reported.

"First of all one has to say that the material clay was also used in those days. Then one can say that these figures are the same size as those in Xi'an, but in any case they are not originals," Grimm said, adding he had never claimed the figures were original. "There was never a word about originals in the Hamburg contract."  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 14 December 2007   

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