VOA标准英语2009年-London Museum Unveils Medieval, Renais

Rachel Smalley | London 21 December 2009

 
One of the exhibits at the Victoria and Albert Museum

London's Victoria and Albert Museum claims to be the world's greatest museum of art and design. With artifacts dating back 3000 years, it has a collection so vast that the Museum has not been able to display all of it for some time. To help remedy that, it opened 10 new Medieval and Renaissance¹ galleries to display nearly 2,000 treasures of European art.

The Victoria and Albert Museum, known here as the V and A, is widely believed to house the finest collection of Italian sculpture outside of Italy.

But its Medieval and Renaissance treasures come in many forms.

Mark Jones is the museum's director:

 

Mark Jones

"The V and A is lucky to have really one of the greatest collections of European art from the Medieval and early Modern period," said Mark Jones. "It has great sculpture, and great works of art of all kinds. Wonderful tapestries², wonderful textiles, gold and silver, enamel³ and jewelry⁴."

To illustrate⁵ how European art and style have changed across the centuries, the midieval and renaissance collections are now being displayed chronologically⁶ across ten new galleries.

 

Peta Motture

 
"This is a bronze roundel that Donatello probably made while he was in Padua," said Chief Curator Peta Motture. This work by Donatello is a favorite of Chief Curator Peta Motture - not least because it came to the museum's attention more than 500 years after Donatello created it and it was being used as an ashtray⁷.

It's just one of many priceless treasures now on display.

"It really is an extraordinary collection that enables us to tell a richness of the story of artistic⁸ production and the culture of which it was produced," she said.

Creating 10 new galleries was a challenge.  It involved dismantling⁹, cleaning and often restoring more than 1800 objects. But it also gave experts the chance to re-examine some treasures, and consider factors that may have influenced their creation.

"We also want you to be able to un-peel the layers of meaning that they held for the people at the time to say something about these wonderful art works themselves, but also about the people who made and owned them, and the culture to which they belong," said Peta Motture.

Some objects - such as the (so called) Becket Casket, named after Saint Thomas Becket who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 - take pride of place in individual displays, allowing visitors to get a 360 degree perspective. 

"And I think we've created a new portrait of European visual culture of the medieval and renaissance period," he said.

The project took almost a decade to complete and cost $53 million. Most of the funds came from private donations. Entrance to the museum is free.
 

1 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

2 tapestries   

n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The wall of the banqueting hall were hung with tapestries. 宴会厅的墙上挂有壁毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rooms were hung with tapestries. 房间里都装饰着挂毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

6 chronologically   

ad. 按年代的

参考例句：

• Manuscripts show cases arranged topically not chronologically. 从原稿看案例是按专题安排的而不是按年代次序安排的。
• Though the exhibition has been arranged chronologically, there are a few exceptions. 虽然展览的时间便已经安排好了，但是也有少数的例外。

7 ashtray   

n.烟灰缸

参考例句：

• He knocked out his pipe in the big glass ashtray.他在大玻璃烟灰缸里磕净烟斗。
• She threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray.她把烟头扔进烟灰缸。

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

9 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。