A climate change protester was ejected from the British Museum Sunday after tying surgical masks onto two of China's famed terracotta warrior statues currently on display at the London venue.

Martin Wyness, 49, stepped over a barrier and placed two masks bearing the slogan "CO2 emission polluter" on two statues.

China's terracotta warriors have been a major draw for the British Museum, which is displaying the figures in a way that allows visitors to stand nearly face-to-face with them.
(Associated Press)

Shortly afterwards, security guards escorted him out of the museum.

The statues were not damaged and the man not arrested, according to museum spokeswoman Hannah Boulton.

Wyness told local media his aim was to draw attention to global warming and also to protest against China's rising carbon dioxide emissions.

He also said he has now been banned for life from visiting the museum.

The exhibition features 19 of the more than 7,000 human figures that were discovered in the tomb of Chinese emperor Qin Shinhuang Di near Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province in 1974.

The terracotta warriors have been a major draw for the museum since opening in September. Approximately 200,000 advance tickets were sold for the exhibition, a new record for the British Museum.

Museum officials have displayed the figures, which are more than 2,000 years old, so that visitors can stand nearly face-to-face with them.

With files from the Associated Press