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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Washington
25 September 2007
The Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, in partnership1 with the National Museum of African Art, recently presented an exhibit of 300 objects produced by cultures touched by Portugal's early 16th century trade routes. Many of the items are on loan from some of the world's finest museums. VOA's Carolyn Turner reports.
The exhibit is titled, ''Encompassing2 the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries."
When you come into the first gallery you see a spectacular sequence of rare early maps. It becomes clear that the worldview changed dramatically within a few decades after the Portuguese3 discoveries of distant lands.
This naval4 empire connected civilizations from all the known continents, transforming commerce and initiating5 unprecedented6 cultural exchange.
The guest curator for the exhibit is Jay Levenson, Director of the International Program at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. "This was the most up-to-date map in the early 15th century in Europe made in Florence, a manuscript" he explained about one item in the collection. "It was actually a second century A.D. map by the Greek cartographer and geographer7 Claudius Ptolemy. This is a map by the same cartographer but showing a modern view of the globe around 1490 and it shows the African coast. And look at the way he had to cut into the bottom margin8 of the map to show that you could actually sail into the Indian Ocean. Of course, it is 1490 and there is no America yet."
Jump ahead half a century and the planet is transformed. A huge wave of exploration has brought the world into focus. Africa takes on a distinctive9 shape. Throughout the 15th century, the Portuguese ventured down the Atlantic coast of Africa where they acquired gold and slaves.
Artisans in the kingdoms of Benin, Kongo [part of modern day Congo], and present day Sierra Leone traded exquisitely10 carved exotic ivory objects.
Ivory tableware, hunting horns and saltcellars -- a type of ceremonial container to protect the precious commodity of table salt -- were all commissioned by the Portuguese.
Some of the fascinating objects are seething11 with tension. A 16th century Nigerian saltcellar depicts12 a slave ship with Portuguese sailors supporting it. The sailor's faces are carved like African masks and the ship's captain holds an African spear. The effect is charming until you notice the small, wide-eyed face peering out from inside the ship. It takes on a disturbing edge.
A stool made from the bones of an elephant was presented as a gift in 1551 by King Joao III of Portugal to the Archduke Maximilian II of Austria. It is engraved13 with the Maximilian II coat of arms.
African ostrich14 eggs are fashioned into cups with ornate gold mounts.
Other products of the animal world include the shell of the nautilus incorporated with gold and precious stones.
The Portuguese discovered a sea route to the spices of India. Objects acquired along the way would be reworked at the next port.
A heart shaped tortoise shell flask15 from India brought to Spain and mounted with silver. A 16th century tortoise shell from India fashioned into a plate.
It is the same with other objects: An Indian craftsman16 turned one into a special shape. And when it got back to Europe they gave it to a goldsmith to turn it into a more luxurious17 object. You could see how fascinated people were with the materials -- new materials coming from the new world
A rhinoceros18 horn mounted in Lisbon with gold filigree19, pearls and rubies20.
Indian mother of pearl vessels21 that were given precious silver gilt22 mounts when they arrived in Europe in the 16th century.
An Ivory fan carved in Sri Lanka. Also from Sri Lanka, sculptures of the Child Christ made of rock crystal, gold sapphires23 and rubies.
For all that it changed in the world, Portugal's empire remains24 largely unknown in America where it was overshadowed by the Spanish.
1 partnership | |
n.合作关系,伙伴关系 | |
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2 encompassing | |
v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 );包围;包含;包括 | |
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3 Portuguese | |
n.葡萄牙人;葡萄牙语 | |
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4 naval | |
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的 | |
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5 initiating | |
v.开始( initiate的现在分词 );传授;发起;接纳新成员 | |
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6 unprecedented | |
adj.无前例的,新奇的 | |
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7 geographer | |
n.地理学者 | |
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8 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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9 distinctive | |
adj.特别的,有特色的,与众不同的 | |
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10 exquisitely | |
adv.精致地;强烈地;剧烈地;异常地 | |
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11 seething | |
沸腾的,火热的 | |
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12 depicts | |
描绘,描画( depict的第三人称单数 ); 描述 | |
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13 engraved | |
v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的过去式和过去分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中) | |
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14 ostrich | |
n.鸵鸟 | |
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15 flask | |
n.瓶,火药筒,砂箱 | |
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16 craftsman | |
n.技工,精于一门工艺的匠人 | |
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17 luxurious | |
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的 | |
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18 rhinoceros | |
n.犀牛 | |
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19 filigree | |
n.金银丝做的工艺品;v.用金银细丝饰品装饰;用华而不实的饰品装饰;adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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20 rubies | |
红宝石( ruby的名词复数 ); 红宝石色,深红色 | |
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21 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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22 gilt | |
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券 | |
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23 sapphires | |
n.蓝宝石,钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 );蔚蓝色 | |
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24 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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