評論
打印
family by family, generation by generation,
以家庭為單位 祖祖輩輩流傳下來
and today the bronze-casters of Benin, like their predecessors,
現在的貝寧青銅雕刻者就和祖輩一樣
are members of an exclusive guild,
是這種獨家行業的成員
and they still use the same methods to produce their art -
他們還使用同樣的方法創造他們的藝術
the lost wax method - and almost every stage in that process
即失蠟法 幾乎現在制作的每一步
is performed today as it was centuries ago.
都與幾個世紀前的方法一模一樣
Yet despite their ancient heritage,
雖然他們傳承自古代
Benin's craftsmen were not the first West Africans
貝寧的匠人并非是西非
to use the technique.
首先使用這一技術的
In the 13th century, the people of Ife cast lifelike heads in metal
伊費人在十三世紀就澆鑄出栩栩如生的金屬頭像
that are thought to represent now long-forgotten rulers.
現在那被認為是遺忘已久的統治者的頭像
They achieved such a sophisticated level of realism
他們在寫實技術上技藝如此純熟
that Europeans would later suggest
以致于歐洲人后來覺得這些頭像
the heads were evidence of the lost civilisation of Atlantis.
就是亞特蘭蒂斯失落文明的證據
This was the indigenous artistic tradition
這是一種土著的藝術傳統
inherited by the Benin Empire,
由貝寧帝國傳承
who used it to honour their obas.
貝寧人用它以示對國王的尊敬
In the hands of Benin's craftsmen,
在貝寧匠人的手中
the style became more abstract,
雕刻的風格變得更加抽象
imbued with magical, symbolic power.
滲透著魔力 具有象征意義的力量
Benin's art would continue to evolve after the arrival
貝寧藝術在十五世紀下半葉
in the late 1400s of Portuguese traders,
葡萄牙商人到來后不斷發展
the first Europeans to reach West Africa.
他們也是首先到達西非的歐洲人
Within Benin's art is evidence
在貝寧藝術中
that the Portuguese were more than just trading partners.
有證據表明葡萄牙人不只是他們的貿易伙伴
This brass statue, made by Africans for Africans,
這尊黃銅雕像由非洲人制作給非洲人
is of a Portuguese soldier.
雕刻的卻是一位葡萄牙士兵
He is quite possibly one of the mercenaries
他可能是貝寧國王軍隊中的
who fought in the Oba's army.
一個雇傭兵
A statue like this could well have adorned the Oba's palace.
這樣的雕塑可能就用于裝飾國王的宮殿
And one of the greatest of all Benin's art treasures gives us
這是貝寧藝術最了不起的珍品之一
an insight into the way Benin saw the Portuguese.
使我們了解了貝寧人是怎樣看待葡萄牙人的
Made not of metal, but carved ivory,
它由象牙而不是金屬雕成
it's believed to show the face of
人們認為它雕刻的是一位
a 16th-century queen mother Idia.
十六世紀的皇太后 依迪亞
