A kneeling terracotta archer, one of only ten to be unearthed from around the tomb of China’s mighty first emperor, yesterday began his journey to London, where he will star in a huge exhibition opening next month at the British Museum.

Museum representatives and Chinese officials took dozens of photographs and compared notes carefully before signing handover documents in the complicated procedure to confide 20 warriors to British hands.

It is the first time that China has allowed such a large number of the warriors abroad, and after more than 2,000 years of guarding royalty through the afterlife, they will travel like a modern-day monarchy: so valuable are the figures — most are insured for between £750,000 and £1.5 million — that they will be flown to London on two flights, to reduce the risk of loss in the event of a crash.

It will be the first time that the British Museum has exhibited soldiers from the army that stands in pits near the ancient capital, Xian, to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi. The exhibition, China’s First Emperor: The Terracotta Army, opens on September 13.

So delicate are the figures that only five members of staff are qualified to pack them. Four were on hand yesterday to wrap the kneeling archer in his own custom-made crate.

First they stood the figure on a wooden base. Next they slid into place blocks of Styrofoam that were moulded to fit around his back and raised knee. Sponge wrapped in cloth was used to block any space between the warrior’s head and back and the rear of the box. More padding was placed at the front, then three loops of specially designed military rope were tied tightly around his upper body and knees. One of the packers, Li, said: “I’m not nervous that I will tie the rope too tightly and damage the figure. I have been doing this job for 20 years.”

The archer was then ready to begin his journey to Beijing and then on to London. The whole process took only ten minutes.

So delicate is the packing that it took Chinese officials some time before they would agree to allow any horses to go abroad. Liu Yunhui, deputy director of the provincial Shaanxi Cultural Relics Bureau, said that China did not want to disappoint the British Museum. “So we have managed to send them three real horses and two replicas,” he said.

The kneeling archer is one of only 160 believed to be among the thousands of terracotta soldiers and is insured for £1.6 million. Tim Chamberlain, a British Museum official, said that he had seen how difficult it was to pack the horses, which have heavy bodies and slender legs. “They are like racing horses. When they are packed their legs don’t touch the floor, so if the crate lands heavily it won’t hurt the horse.”

More than 750,000 workers took 47 years to build the tomb of China’s first emperor, starting work when he inherited the throne of the state of Qin at the age of 13. This ruthless ruler united the warring states of China into one political body in 221BC and ruled until his death in 210BC. It is from his State that China takes its name.

He presided over the standardisation of coinage and weights and measures, as well as the launch of construction of the Great Wall. While his terracotta bodyguard is world-renowned, the emperor himself is little known. Officials at the British Museum said they hoped that the exhibition would help Britain to learn more about one of the most important figures in world history.

The warriors were discovered by chance in 1974 by farmers digging a well. Since then, archaeologists have charted an underground complex the size of Cambridge and much of it remains untouched.

The emperor’s own tomb, which according to legend, is heavily booby-trapped, has yet to be explored and Chinese historians have said that they plan to wait 100 years before attempting that feat because they lack the resources for such a huge project.

According to the historian Sima Qian, the first emperor was buried with a great deal of treasure, as well as a scale replica of the Universe complete with gemmed ceilings representing the Cosmos, and flowing mercury representing the great earthly bodies of water. Pearls were also placed on the ceilings in the tomb to represent heavenly bodies. Recent scientific work at the site has shown high levels of mercury in the soil nearby,

Mr Liu said that the figures had been chosen carefully to ensure that visitors would see a broad range. “We want to show all kinds of warriors, with chariots, with horses, senior officers and ordinary soldiers. We make sure some still have paint and some are broken to show how they were made,” he said.

The exhibition contains 120 pieces and will include several recent discoveries, including some terracotta acrobats and a magnificent bronze tripod urn that was unearthed in 1999.

(The exhibition will run at the British Museum from September 13 to April 6; to book tickets, call 0207-323 8181 or e-mail boxoffice@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk; prices are: adult £12, child 16-18 £10, under-16s free (accompanied by paying adult), concessions £10; the box office is open from 10am-4.45pm daily)

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