纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 063伊费头像（2）（在线收听）

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 brass, which has now darkened with age. The shape of the face is an elegant oval, covered with finely incised vertical lines, but it's a facial scarring so perfectly symmetrical that it contains rather than disturbs the features. He wears a crown - a high beaded diadem with a striking vertical plume 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 meticulous 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 repose. Standing face-to-face with this brass sculpture, I know that I'm in the presence of a ruler imbued with the high serenity 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 civilisation:

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：