Even during the earliest days, man has always been fascinated
with replicas of everyday life. In tombs recently unearthed,
there have always been replicas the things the person loved in
life. These things may be toy horses, toy soldiers, toy weapons
and other models of that sort.
The Ancient Egyptians had numerous replicas in their tombs that
symbolized the life the dead had once lived. For these people
these replicas held not just sentimental value. They held
symbolical and religious value as well.
Replicas in the old days were usually created using clay.
Potters and craftsmen would form these lumps of earth into
various shapes to create mini-statues, toys, pottery, and other
models.
Pagan idols were also created this way. The craftsmen would turn
clay into pottery that would be worshipped by the fervent
followers of whatever religion the craftsman worked for. These
gods would often be modeled after human and mystical
inspirations and not actual existing objects.
Replicas do not necessarily have to be smaller than the objects
they represent. The Ancient Egyptians created gigantic monuments
throughout their land. These monuments were modeled after great
pharaohs and kings. Some of these monuments can be up to a
hundred times the size of a human being.
As time passed by, the replicas these craftsmen created became
more and more complicated. Chinese and Hindu craftsmen were
noted for delicate replicas made of the Buddha. These replicas
were usually made of gold or porcelain.
The greatest example of Chinese craftsmanship in this regard is
the terracotta army created for Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, by some
accounts, the most powerful man in the world in his day.
This amazing 7,000-man army of life-sized foot soldiers,
officers, war chariots and one kneeling archer (the excavation
continues and squadrons of archers remain to be found).
It spreads out four abreast in row after row in pits that lay
buried for more than 2,000 years under farm fields until
discovered in the early 1970's by peasants digging a well.
The kneeling archer, his hands in position to hold his weapons,
has become the best known symbol of this remarkable army
throughout the world.
Three pits, the largest covering an area the size of a football
field and a half, have been roofed and air-conditioned and have
become one of the most visited tourism sites in China.
Parapets around the pits allow visitors to look down on the army
and on the continuing excavation.
Most of the figures, once painted in life-like colors, are now
faded to the warm earthen tones of natural terra-cotta, and most
have been cleaned and reassembled as they once were from the
rubble of mud and roots that centuries of weather collapsed on
to the original army.
Most amazing of all, the figures were sculpted with such skill
that individual characteristics, facial features and
personalities are discernible in each soldier. The officers may
well have been rendered as portraits of actual men.
Today, replicas are created for the sole purpose of the
enjoyment of its collectors. There exist many types of replicas
of this sort: guns, cars, buildings, cartoon characters,
uniforms, ships, war vehicles, and even movie props and
costumes.
These replicas even fetch enormous amounts at collectors fairs
and auctions.
The skill of today's craftsmen make creating these replicas much
like creating the authentic thing itself.
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