纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 066圣荆棘之匣（6）（在线收听）

We're not sure who he gave it to, but by 1544 it was in the treasury of the Habsburg emperors in Vienna. And from there its secularisation begins - the gold, enamel and jewels become far more valuable and interesting than the humble thorn that they house. In the 1860s it was sent to a dishonest antique dealer for restoration. Instead of carrying out the repairs, the dealer created a forgery, which he sent back in its place to the Imperial treasury, keeping the original himself. Eventually the genuine Reliquary was bought by the head of the Vienna branch of the Rothschild bank, and it was donated to the British Museum by Ferdinand de Rothschild in 1898 as part of the Waddesdon Bequest, which now occupies the whole of a small gallery here at the museum.

You never get to the end of the Holy Thorn Reliquary. It's a theatre for the cosmic drama of salvation. It's a sermon on high medieval theology. And you could almost say it's a single-object museum, even if an incomparably lavish one. There's one exhibit, mounted on sapphire, displayed behind rock crystal, and labelled on enamel. But its purpose is the same as any museum's, to provide a worthy setting for a great thing. We can't of course know how visitors approach the objects on display in the British Museum, but many visitors surely still use the Holy Thorn Reliquary for its original devotional purpose of contemplation and prayer.

我们确定不了他赠送的对象。但在一五四四年，它成了维也纳哈布斯堡君主的藏品。在那之后，它开始回归俗世，世人对装饰其上的黄金、珐琅与珠宝比对盛放其中的平凡荆棘更感兴趣。十九世纪六十年代，它被送到一名狡猾的古董商处修复，而他却制造了一个赝品送回，留下了真品。最终，真正的圣物匣被罗斯柴尔德银行维也纳分行行长购得，并由费迪南德·罗斯柴尔德男爵作为沃德斯登庄园展品之一赠送给了大英博物馆。如今，这一来自沃德斯登的赠品占据了博物馆的整整一间小型展厅。

圣荆棘匣本身便可算是一座只有一件展品的博物馆，也许还算得上全世界最奢华的一座：展品摆放在蓝宝石上，前面陈列着一排水晶，标签用珐琅做成。它的用途和所有博物馆并无不同：为一件有价值的物品提供一个相称的展示环境。我们不太了解游客会以何种视角欣赏大英博物馆所陈列的物品，但在面对圣荆棘匣时，许多人仍会遵循它虔诚的制造初衷，对着它沉思或祷告。