Terracotta Army the earliest industrial use of lathes for polishing. The first exhibition of the figures outside of China was held at National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne in 1982. A collection of 120 objects from the mausoleum and 12 terracotta warriors were displayed at the British Museum in London as its special exhibition "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" from 13 September 2007 to April 2008. This exhibition made 2008 the British Museum's most successful year and made the British Museum the United Kingdom's top cultural attraction between 2007 and 2008. The exhibition brought the most visitors to the museum
Etruscan terracotta warriors Joseph V. Noble (an antiquities collector and self-trained ceramic archaeologist) "provided the first technical evidence of their having been made in modern times." This was confirmed by Alfredo Fioravanti, who on January 5, 1961, entered the US consulate in Rome and signed a confession. The forgers had lacked the skills – and the very large kiln – required to make such large pieces. The fragments had been fired, "discovered" and sold, or re-assembled ("restored") then sold. As proof, Fioravanti presented the Old Warrior's missing thumb, which he had kept as a memento. On February 15, the Metropolitan Museum announced that