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Terracotta army takes on King Tut
By Louise Jury, Evening Standard 13.09.07
Big draw: The long-awaited exhibition of the First Emperor of China and his Terracotta Army opened at the British Museum today
Emperor's army: Warriors are on show until April
The battle of the burial sites has prompted more than 200,000 advance ticket sales.
As the British Museum's exhibition on the First Emperor of China and his terracotta warriors opens today, approaching 150,000 people have already booked their place at one of the blockbuster shows of the autumn.
And on the first day of public sales for the Tutankhamun exhibition which opens at the 02 in November, 60,000 people have signed up to see the treasures of Egypt which were last seen in the UK more than 30 years ago.
A British Museum spokeswoman said: "We're expecting it to be busy, but it does go on until April so there are plenty of opportunities to come and see it."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is one of the first to have seen the exhibition of treasures from the burial tombs of the First Emperor.
He was one of the star guests, alongside a mixed bag of visitors including actor Sir Antony Sher and artist Grayson Perry, at the official opening reception on Tuesday night.
Film crews from America and almost every country in Europe have reported on the unprecedented loan of the terracotta warriors which have captured the international imagination.
Mr Brown described it as "a great day for Britain" and "a gift across continents".
However, some critics believe visitors may be disappointed that London will be seeing only a handful of the warriors and other figures buried in Xi'an more than 2,000 years ago.
A spokesman for the Tutankhamun show said 190,000 had reserved places at the exhibition even before booking opened this week.
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Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Both exhibitions are being a trifle disingenous if only a handful of warriors are to be on display, since I also hear that Tutenkhamun's death mask, featured so prominently in the advertising, is not to be in attendence either. If this is true it would decidedly diminish the expo but this would hardly come as a surprise as he would ostensibly be on display in a tent with a good escape route.
- Squiz, Islington
