2019年经济学人 易北河上的瞒天过海--德累斯顿绿穹珍宝馆被盗(1)

 

Books & arts

来源于《图书与艺术》版块

Dresden’s Green Vault¹

德累斯顿绿穹珍宝馆

Ocean’s Eight on the Elbe

易北河上的瞒天过海

BERLIN

柏林

Thieves make off with bejewelled treasures from a storied collection

小偷偷走了一个有传奇色彩的收藏品中的珠宝

In the 18th century Augustus the Strong competed with Louis XIV, France’s “Sun King”, to assemble Europe’s most extravagant² jewellery collection. The elector of Saxony, who ruled over Poland and Lithuania, probably triumphed in the end: he gathered multiple sets of exquisite³ artefacts, made of diamonds, rubies⁴, sapphires⁵ and emeralds, a haul that was supplemented by his successors. The collection represents “a kind of world heritage”, reckons Dirk Syndram, director of the Green Vault treasury⁶ in Dresden, a baroque city on the Elbe, which houses all the gems⁷.

18世纪，奥古斯都与法国的“太阳王”路易十四竞争，收集欧洲最奢华的珠宝。统治着波兰和立陶宛的萨克森选帝者很可能在最后取得了胜利：他收集了多套精美的手工制品，由钻石、红宝石、蓝宝石和祖母绿制成。德累斯顿是易北河上一座巴洛克风格的城市，所有的宝石都收藏在这里。

Or, it did until recently. In a swift predawn raid on November 25th at least two (presumably diminutive) thieves entered the Green Vault’s jewel room through a small hole they had made in the iron grille of a ground-floor window. They had apparently⁸ disabled the museum’s alarm system by setting fire to a nearby electrical-distribution hub. Inside, they smashed a glass showcase with an axe⁹ and grabbed roughly 100 pieces from three of the jewellery sets, including several diamond brooches, a string of pearls, a duelling sword with a diamond- encrusted hilt and the Star of the Polish White Eagle Order.

或者说，曾经是，现在不是。在11月25日拂晓前的一次突然袭击中，至少有两名(可能是身材矮小的)窃贼通过他们在一楼窗户的铁格栅上凿出的一个小洞进入了绿穹珍宝馆的珠宝室。他们在附近的一个配电中心放火，明显是为了使博物馆的警报系统失灵。在里面，他们用斧头砸碎了一个玻璃橱窗，从三套珠宝中抢了大约100件，包括几枚钻石胸针、一串珍珠、一把镶有钻石柄的决斗剑和波兰白鹰勋章。

Security guards alerted the police, but by the time they arrived, the thieves had fled; the presumed getaway car was found burned out in a nearby underground garage. One of the collection’s greatest treasures, the 41-carat Dresden Green Diamond, is safely on loan to the Metropolitan¹⁰ Museum of Art in New York, for an exhibition about the splendour of European courts. But the missing pieces could be worth many millions of euros. “We are devastated¹¹ to hear of this theft,” said Max Hollein, the Met’s director.

保安人员通知了警察，但当他们到达时，小偷已经逃走了。人们在附近的一个地下车库发现了一辆被烧毁的汽车。这枚41克拉的德累斯顿绿钻是藏品中最珍贵的珍宝之一，它被安全地借给了纽约大都会艺术博物馆，用于一场关于欧洲宫廷辉煌的展览。但丢失的碎片可能价值数百万欧元。“听到这个消息我们都很震惊，”大都会博物馆馆长马克斯·霍林说。

1 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

2 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

3 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

4 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

5 sapphires   

n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色

参考例句：

• Again there was that moment of splintered sapphires before the lids, dropping like scales, extinguished it. 她眼眶中又闪烁出蓝宝石的光彩，接着眼睑象鱼鳞般地垂落下来，双目又黯然失色了。 来自辞典例句
• She also sported a somewhat gawdy gold watch set with diamonds and sapphires. 她还收到一块镶着钻石和蓝宝石的金表。 来自辞典例句

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

10 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

11 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。