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Associated in traditional (and even present-day) China with death and burial, rather than with art, and almost unknown outside China before the late nineteenth century, Chinese ceramic funerary sculptures came to world attention over the course of the twentieth century, brought to light by chance discovery and controlled excavation alike. By this time, virtually everyone interested in art recognizes Tang horses and camels, and the life-sized terracotta warriors from the trenches surrounding the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi (r. 221210 B.C.), the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221206 B.C.). Most collectors of Chinese tomb sculptures have specialized in the brilliantly colored sancai, or "three-color," glazed examples from the Tang dynasty (618907). By contrast, Tony Solomon has taken a much more comprehensive view, acquiring funerary sculptures from the Han (206 B.C.A.D. 220) through the Tang dynasties. (from the Preface by Robert D. Mowry)