纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 054度母雕像(2)

The statue of Tara is cast in one piece of solid bronze, that has been covered in gold. When new, she must have been dazzling when she was seen under the Sri Lankan sun. And even now, when her gilding¹ is rather worn, and she stands in the cool light of Bloomsbury, she still has a compelling lustre². She is about three quarters life-size, and she stands, as she always would have, on a plinth, so that as you look up at her, she benignly³ gazes down at you. Her face tells you at once that she comes from south Asia. But that's not the first thing that strikes visitors as they look at her.

这尊度母雕像由整块纯铜打造而成，外面镀一层金。刚完工时它一定曾在斯里兰卡的阳光下光彩夺目。如今虽然镀金已经磨去，照射它的也只有博物馆的冷光，但它依然散发出迷人的光泽。雕像约有真人的四分之三大小，立于基座之上，这是度母的一贯造型。当你仰望她时，她也仁慈地注视着你。铜像的面部特征能让人一眼看出她来自南亚。但这并不是最吸引参观者眼球的地方。

She's got a quite impossible hour-glass figure, and her upper body is completely naked. Her full and perfectly⁴ rounded breasts float above a tiny wasp⁵ waist, while below, a flimsy sarong is draped in gleaming folds, which cling to and beguilingly⁶ reveal her shapely lower body.

因为她拥有堪称不可思议的沙漏形身材，上半身几乎全裸，纤细的蜂腰上是丰满圆润的胸部。髋部则围着一条轻薄的纱笼，光泽闪耀，突显下半身的迷人线条，令人陶醉。

So you will hardly be surprised to learn that when Tara arrived at the British Museum, from Ceylon as it was then known, in the 1830s, she was seen as so dangerously erotic and voluptuous⁷ that she was at once put into the store-rooms, and kept there for 30 years, visible only to specialist scholars on request.

十九世纪三十年代，初抵博物馆的度母雕像立刻被放进储藏室保存，近30年的时间内，只有提出申请的专家学者才能观看。也许会有人认为公开展览这样的雕像有伤风化。

1 gilding   

n.贴金箔，镀金

参考例句：

• The dress is perfect. Don't add anything to it at all. It would just be gilding the lily. 这条裙子已经很完美了，别再作任何修饰了，那只会画蛇添足。
• The gilding is extremely lavish. 这层镀金极为奢华。

2 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。

3 benignly   

adv.仁慈地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Everyone has to benignly help people in distress. 每一个人应让该亲切地帮助有困难的人。 来自互联网
• This drug is benignly soporific. 这种药物具有良好的催眠效果。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

6 beguilingly   

参考例句：

• In effect, he presents us with a beguilingly simple outline of the social evolution. 从效果而言，他给我们描述了关于社会发展进程的一个有趣而简单的大纲。 来自互联网

7 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。