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It's an expression of elegance and power.
它表達的是優雅與權力
But most intriguing is her crown.
但最復雜的部分是她的王冠
It's a row of tiny bearded faces,
王冠上是一排小小的蓄著胡須的臉
symbolising the seafaring Portuguese.
代表著航海的葡萄牙人
They were said to be messengers of Benin's water god Olokun,
他們據說是貝寧大海女神的信使
so their images reinforced the authority of the Queen.
所以他們的形象強調了女王的權力
Trade with the Portuguese meant that the kingdom of Benin,
和葡萄牙人貿易充分表明
like a number of African societies,
貝寧王國和其他非洲社會一樣
was drawn into a new Atlantic world.
加入了新大西洋世界
African traders loaded locally produced goods
非洲商人用本地產品
onto European ships that sailed up African rivers.
填滿往來于非洲河流的歐洲船只
They traded in cloth and in pepper, in gold and ivory,
他們買賣布料 胡椒 黃金和象牙
and also in slaves, though at this point, in very small numbers.
也買賣奴隸 雖然在那時數目很少
But Africans also exported the work of African artists,
但非洲人也出口非洲藝術家們的作品
who found new customers in Europe.
這些藝術家在歐洲找到了新的顧客
The craftsmen of Benin carved elaborate salt cellars from ivory,
貝寧匠人用象牙雕刻精致的鹽碟
in the process creating a new Afro-Portuguese style.
那時他們正創造一種新的非洲葡萄牙風格
With their Christian crosses and distinctive clothes,
這些人像有基督教的十字架和特色衣服
these figures are unmistakably 16th-century Europeans.
無疑刻畫的就是十六世紀的歐洲人
The lid is crowned with a tiny Portuguese sailing ship,
蓋子上是一搜小葡萄牙帆船
topped with a crow's nest.
頂端裝飾著一個烏鴉的巢穴
As a witty flourish, we see a sailor peeping out.
有趣的是 還有一位水手探出頭來
These luxury items were all destined
這些貴重物品都運往了
for Portugal's great port city - Lisbon.
葡萄牙最大的港口城市 里斯本
By the late 1400s, contact with the world beyond Europe
到十五世紀后半葉 葡萄牙和外面世界的接觸
was transforming the way the Portuguese saw themselves...
使得葡萄牙人看待自己的方式改變了
As more inquisitive and more outward-looking.
他們更加富有好奇心 更加開放
The fortified tower of Belem, built to protect Lisbon harbour,
貝倫塔的建造是為了保衛里斯本港口
boasted ornate braided details
擁有編織狀的裝飾細節
thought by some to be influenced by African carvings,
有人認為這種裝飾就是受到非洲雕刻的影響
like the ivory salt-cellar ship.
就如那艘象牙鹽碟的帆船
