译文摘录：

“装饰艺术是人类需要愉悦和逃亡的反映。”这句话写在伦敦维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆的展厅入口处，引领着人们走进去，同时也点燃了我们内心的愿望。

“Decorative art is the reflection of human needs of pleasure and escape.” This sentence is written on the entrance of the exhibition room of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, leading visitors into the museum and igniting the desire in our inner hearts.

装饰艺术百宝箱
A Treasure Case of Decorative Art

——伦敦维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆
——Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)

如果说到伦敦的博物馆，不知道V&A的话未免遗憾，虽然它排在大英博物馆之后位居第二，但却丝毫不能掩盖它在艺术和设计收藏领域内全球首位的分量与荣耀。

When it comes to museums in London, knowing about the V&A is essential. It may be ranked second to the British Museum, officially; but in the fields of art and design, its collections are unsurpassed. The gloriously extensive range of exhibits means the V&A – as it’s universally known – has no rival in these artistic areas.

肯辛顿（Kinsington）曾经被英国媒体评选为“世界最贵的十条街道”之首。作为皇室居所肯辛顿宫之所在，这个“贵”所指当然是富贵，而维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆就在这里。博物馆现在的名字是1899年的时候由南肯辛顿博物馆（South Kensington Museum）更名而来的，为纪念创造了空前繁荣的“维多利亚时代”的传奇女王和她毕生热爱艺术的丈夫阿尔伯特亲王。也正是这个名字，准确记录了这座“艺术档案馆”的精彩开端。

Its location, Kensington, emerged in top position of “The World’s Richest Streets” in a British media survey. This London borough is where the Royal residence, Kensington Palace, can be found, and these are streets where the wealthy and socially prominent have long made their homes. The current name of the museum was changed from the South Kensington Museum in 1899 to honor the legendary Queen Victoria. Her name defined the “Victorian Era,” which brought unprecedented prosperity to Britain, and her husband, Prince Albert, was a great supporter of the arts in his lifetime. The combination of their names is how these splendid “Art Archives” have come to be known across the world.

1851年，被称作“万国博览会”的首届世博会在维多利亚和阿尔伯特的大力支持下亮相于世，并于圆满结束后创造了18万英镑的盈余。这笔资金在第二年为英国奠定了两个博物馆的展品基础，肯辛顿科学技术博物馆（Science Museum）是其一，另一个就是维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆。历经了150多个年头，从绘画、雕塑到摄影，从陶瓷、玻璃器皿到珠宝，从金属、纺织制品到家具，甚至包括服装和建筑，凭借涵盖200多个种类的400多万件艺术展品，V&A已经在世界装饰艺术收藏领域独占鳌头。

In 1851, the first World Expo, or the “World’s Fair,” became familiar to the world largely through the vigorous support of Victoria and Albert. The hugely successful Fair created a surplus of 180,000 pounds, and after its conclusion, these funds formed the solid financial foundation for two British museums: the Kensington Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The ensuing 150 years have seen constant growth and development, and today the V&A dominates the global field of Decorative Arts’ collections, with its array of more than 4 million exhibits. The range of these exhibits extends to some 200 types of decorative arts: paintings, sculptures, photography, ceramics, glassware, jewellery, metal, textiles, furniture, and even clothing and architecture.

不同于以大英博物馆为代表的一系列世界知名的伦敦博物馆，V&A的馆藏源自世界的每一个角落，只要那个角落中埋藏着人类的实用艺术结晶，就必然会有一些片段被收入这只百宝箱。领略过这里的人会有一种强烈的体会，那就是丝毫不会有被历史的厚重感压迫呼吸的感觉，反而可能完全忘记自己正徜徉在几百年、上千年的时光逆流中，原因就是V&A从不强调展品的断代年份。这不禁让人恍然在意识中捡起了展厅门口的那句话——既然是为了找寻逃离现实的愉悦，当然应该过滤掉一切刻板的框架，只留下纯粹的艺术之美来做伴。

Collections at the V&A come from all corners of the world – no matter how far-flung – as long as the peoples of these corners have created true classics of decorative art and design. But the scope of the resulting collection doesn’t overwhelm. Visitors to the V&A risk neither geographic nor historic overdose. Instead, chances are high they’ll be entirely unaware of their artistic journey through the ages, for the V&A doesn’t stress the date of creation of its exhibits. Let’s go back to the quotation which greets visitors. “Decorative art is the reflection of human needs of pleasure and escape.” The V&A’s defining motto? Step out of time. Enjoy the sheer artistic beauty you find here.

在这里，自然可以看到米开朗基罗的大卫和康斯坦布尔的画作，但更多的则是像中国汉代的玉器、意大利的玻璃制品、维多利亚时代的服装等这样的手工艺品，设计感和工艺水准是V&A藏品准入的首要标准。因此，V&A在展示一件件独立展品的同时，也记录了人类对美好和艺术的追求轨迹，尤其让我们看到近代以来，始终有一群人为提高生活品质、增添生活情趣，在家具和服装等实用领域进行了大量精美而富创造力的设计。而这些设计提供的是一种真真切切的感受，代表着文明进步给生活带来的喜悦与满足。

Visitors’ eyes are dazzled by an array of handicrafts. There are Chinese jades from the Han Dynasty. Alongside, you will find Italian glass. Next, clothes from the Victorian Era. Quality of design and standard of technology are the crucial criteria for the collections at the V&A; therefore, whilst showing separate exhibits, the V&A’s collections effectively create a record of the human race’s pursuit of beauty and arts. And when that record of quality and design reaches contemporary times, it offers visitors something yet more: an opportunity to see that there are still people crafting exquisite and imaginative pieces of furniture and clothing. These are items which improve the quality of life and sprinkle delight on everyday existence. These designs remind us of the existence of authenticity, of true authorship, and represent the pleasure and satisfaction progressive civilization can bring.

对于设计师而言，V&A就是一座让人流连忘返的艺术宝藏。英国时尚教母Vivienne Westwood年轻时曾无数次来到这里，从传统服装和维多利亚时代的传统绘画中学习服装的结构。一个极端叛逆的设计师竟然在这堆极端传统的古董里发掘到了灵感，更不可思议的是，她的作品也被V&A著名的服装馆藏所收录，让Vivienne不羁的热情得到了最好的归宿。

When it comes to designers, the V&A has itself long been considered an art treasure. British fashion guru, Vivienne Westwood, came here frequently in her youth to study the structure of clothing from garments and paintings during the Victoria Era. It may astound some that a rebellious designer drew inspiration from these traditional artefacts; but it’s a perfect example of the range of the museum’s exhibits, and its eclectic galleries, that her work has been included in the renowned ‘Clothing Collection’ at the V&A. That display remains to this day an admired showcase of the uninhibited passion for fashion of Westwood.

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