The head of the British Museum has defended the acquisition of an “extraordinary” collection of more than 500 historic Chinese ivories, as public attitudes to the modern-day trade in ivory harden.

大英博物馆(British Museum)馆长为该馆接收一批500多件“非凡”中国古代象牙制品进行了辩护。目前公众对现代象牙贸易的态度日益强硬。

The collection of ivory figurines of deities and immortals, sewing boxes, brush pots and other “exquisite” objects mainly from the 17th to 19th centuries was amassed by the Shanghai trader Sir Victor Sassoon in the early 20th century.

这批象牙雕刻——包括各路神仙、针线盒、笔筒及其他“精美”物件——主要制作于17至19世纪，由长期居于上海的商人维克多沙逊爵士(Sir Victor Sassoon)在20世纪初收集而成。

It has been in England since the 1950s and, following Sassoon’s death in 1961, was looked after by a trust that last year donated it — along with an endowment for its upkeep — to the museum.

这批藏品自上世纪50年代以来一直保存在英格兰，在沙逊1961年去世后由一家信托机构负责照看。该机构去年将其（连同一笔用于维护的捐款）捐赠给了大英博物馆。

Speaking at the museum’s annual review, Hartwig Fischer, British Museum director, said the museum “unreservedly endorsed” the public campaign to ban the ivory trade but added that historical works of high cultural value needed to be preserved and made available for public display and scholarly study.

大英博物馆馆长哈特维格费舍尔(Hartwig Fischer)在博物馆年度品评会上表示，该馆“无保留地支持”禁止象牙贸易的公众运动，但补充称，有高度文化价值的历史文物需要保存下来，以供公开展览和学术研究使用。

“These ivories [made] in the last centuries or millennia?.?.?.?do not save any elephants’ lives today. The British Museum is the right place to share them worldwide today,” he said, adding that proposed acquisitions were “minutely scrutinised” by staff before deciding whether to accept them.

“这些象牙制品（制作于）过去几个世纪或千年……无法拯救任何当今大象的生命。大英博物馆是当今在世界范围内分享它们的理想之所，”他说，并补充称在决定是否接收之前，博物馆员工“详细查验了”这批拟议捐赠物。

The museum has one of the greatest cultural collections of ivory in the world, with treasures from Nimrud, Benin, Japanese netsuke and the celebrated 12th century Lewis Chessmen. Jane Porter, head curator of Asian collections, said it “could become a global centre for the study of ivories” without in any way “condoning” the modern-day ivory trade. “We feel it’s the best solution to look after the ivories and make them available.”

大英博物馆拥有世界最具文化价值的象牙制品收藏之一，包括来自尼姆鲁德(Nimrud)和贝宁(Benin)的珍品、日本的根付(netsuke)以及雕刻于12世纪的刘易斯岛象棋棋子(Lewis Chessmen)。大英博物馆亚洲藏品负责人简波特(Jane Porter)表示，该馆“可以成为研究象牙制品的全球中心”，同时不会以任何方式“姑息”现代象牙贸易。“我们认为，这是照看这批象牙制品并让它们有机会与公众见面的最好解决办法。”

The government has moved towards a ban on the ivory trade, introducing a bill currently going through Parliament that provides some exemptions for museums. Earlier this month Mr Fischer gave evidence to a Commons committee as part of the bill’s scrutiny.

英国政府已经采取措施禁止象牙贸易，目前议会正在审议一项相关法案，该法案为博物馆提供一些豁免。本月早些时候，作为法案审议的一部分，费舍尔向下议院一个委员会作证。

（来源：爱语吧）