纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 063伊费头像（2）

 

I'm in the Africa Gallery of the British Museum, looking at the Ife head. Or rather, he is looking at me. His head's a little smaller than life-size, and made of brass¹, which has now darkened with age. The shape of the face is an elegant oval, covered with finely incised vertical² lines, but it's a facial scarring so perfectly³ symmetrical that it contains rather than disturbs the features. He wears a crown - a high beaded diadem⁴ with a striking vertical plume⁵ projecting from the top, and that's still got quite a lot of the original red paint. This is an object with extraordinary presence. The alert gaze, the high curve of the cheek, the lips parted as though about to speak - all these are captured with absolute confidence. To grasp the structure of a face like this is possible only after long training and meticulous⁶ observation. There's no doubt that this represents a real person. But this is reality not just rendered but transformed. The details of the face have been generalised and abstracted to give an impression of repose⁷. Standing⁸ face-to-face with this brass sculpture, I know that I'm in the presence of a ruler imbued⁹ with the high serenity¹⁰ of power. When Ben Okri, the Nigerian-born novelist, looks at the Ife head, he sees not only a ruler, but a society and a civilisation¹¹:

这座伊费头像被保存在大英博物馆的非洲厅，仿佛时刻注视着前来参观的人。

它比真人的头颅略小，用黄铜制成，光彩因岁月而暗淡。它的脸部呈优雅的椭圆形，布满了精心雕刻的竖线。这种面部伤痕的对称性无可挑剔，非但没有损害雕像的魅力，反而为其增色不少。他戴着一顶高高的串珠王冠，上面竖着插了一根醒目的羽毛状饰物。王冠上最初的红漆至今还保留了大部分。这一物品具有非凡的存在感。警惕的眼神，瘦削的脸颊，半张着的仿佛要说话的嘴唇—一这一切细节的雕琢都展现了艺术家的胸有成竹。要掌握这样的面部结构，必须进行长期的训练和细致的观察。毫无疑问，它表现的是一个真实人物，但对实际情况做了一定的修饰。面部的细节经过整合与提炼，传达出一种安宁之感。与这件黄铜雕像面对面时，我能感受到他是一位沉着镇定、拥有无上权力的领导者。出生于尼日利亚的小说家本·奥克瑞不仅从伊费头像中看到了一位统治者，还有一个社会与一种文明：

1 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

2 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 diadem   

n.王冠，冕

参考例句：

• The diadem is the symbol of royalty.王冠就是王权的象征。
• Nature like us is sometimes caught without diadem.自然犹如我等，时常没戴皇冠。

5 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

6 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

7 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 imbued   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

• Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness. 她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。
• These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose. 这些有教养的人满怀着社会责任感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

11 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。