Why do we have museums? - J. V. Maranto

我們為什麼有博物館? - J. V. Maranto

譯者: 薇淳 Claire 審譯者: 瑞文Eleven 林Lim

Hello, everyone. Let's begin our guided tour.

大家好。 讓我們開始導覽吧。

Welcome to the Museum of Museums.

歡迎來到專門介紹 博物館的博物館。

Museums have been a part of human history for over 2000 years.

博物館人類歷史中已經 存在超過2000年了。

But they weren't always like the ones we visit today.

但它們並不都像我們 今日參觀的那樣。

The history of museums is far older and much stranger than you might imagine.

博物館的歷史與特異 都超出你們的想像。

We'll start over here in the Greek wing.

我們先從希臘展館開始。

Our word museum comes from the Greek mouseion,

博物館的英文museum 來自希臘文mouseion，

temples built for the Muses, the goddesses of the arts and the sciences.

最早是為藝術與科學的女神 繆斯所建造的神殿。

Supplicants asked the Muses to keep watch over academics

信徒們祈求繆斯能庇佑學者，

and grant ingenuity to those they deemed worthy.

並將聰明才智賜予 那些他們尊敬的人。

The temples were filled with offerings of sculptures,

神殿中充滿被供奉的雕像、

mosaics,

鑲嵌畫、

complex scientific apparatuses,

複雜的科學儀器、

poetic and literary inscriptions,

詩和文學的碑文

and any other tribute that would demonstrate a mortal's worthiness

和其他可展現受神啟後

凡人尊貴價值的貢品。

for divine inspiration.

我們來到美索不達米亞展館，

We have arrived at the Mesopotamian wing.

The first museum was created in 530 B.C. in what is now Iraq.

第一個博物館在公元前530 創建於現在的伊拉克。

And the first curator was actually a princess.

第一位博物館館長是一個公主。

Ennigaldi-Nanna started to collect and house Mesopotamian antiquities

Ennigaldi-Nanna 蒐藏美索不達米亞的古物

in E-Gig-Par, her house.

放在E-Gig-Par，她的家裡。

When archeologists excavated the area,

當考古學家挖掘到這個區域，

they discovered dozens of artifacts neatly arranged in rows,

他們發現許多整齊排列的文物，

with clay labels written in three languages.

並有寫成三種語言的黏土標籤。

She must have had interesting parties.

她必定擁有許多有趣的聚會。

The tradition of collecting and displaying intriguing items began to be mimicked,

蒐集和展覽有趣物品的傳統開始被模仿，

as you can see here in the Roman Empire wing.

你可以在這裡看到， 在羅馬帝國的展館中，

Treasure houses of politicians and generals

政治家和將軍的寶庫中

were filled with the spoils of war,

充滿了眾多戰爭中的戰利品，

and royal menageries displayed exotic animals

皇家馴獸場展示許多珍禽異獸，

to the public on special occasions, like gladiator tournaments.

並會在特殊的場合公開， 像格鬥比賽。

As you can see, we have a lion here and a gladiator,

正如你所見， 這裡有一隻獅子和一位角鬥士，

and, well, the janitor ought to be in this wing clearly.

好了，看門人應該要看緊一點。

Moving on, hurry along.

接下來，加快腳步。

The next step in the evolution of museums occurred in the Renaissance,

博物館下一階段的發展 發生在文藝復興時期，

when the study of the natural world was once again encouraged

西方世界經歷 約一千年後的黑暗時期後，

after almost a millennium of Western ignorance.

對自然界的研究再次受到鼓勵。

Curiosity cabinets, also referred to as Wunderkammers,

珍奇古董展示櫃，也被稱為「多寶閣」，

were collections of objects that acted as a kind of physical encyclopedia,

像是收藏著實物的百科全書，

showcasing artifacts.

就是拿來展示的文物。

Just step into the wardrobe here. There you go. Mind the coats.

試著走進衣櫃，對， 就是那裏，留意大衣。

And we'll tour Ole Worm's cabinet,

我們將導覽歐雷溫 (Ole Worm's)的展示室，

One of the most notable Wunderkammers

最可觀的多寶閣中之一，

belonged to a wealthy 17th-century naturalist,

屬於17世紀一位 富裕的博物學家、

antiquarian, and physician Ole Worm.

古董玩家、醫生歐雷溫。

Ole Worm collected natural specimens,

歐雷溫收集自然標本、

human skeletons,

人類骨骼、

ancient runic texts,

古老的字碑

and artifacts from the New World.

及來自新世界的文物。

In other curiosity cabinets,

在其他的多寶閣中，

you could find genetic anomalies,

你會發現畸形的骨頭、

precious stones,

珍貴的寶石、

works of art,

藝術作品

and religious and historic relics.

及宗教、歷史的遺跡。

Oh my. You might not want to touch that.

噢，天哪！請勿觸摸。

These cabinets were private, again, often in residencies,

這些展示櫃都是私人的，再次常駐，

curated by their owners, rulers and aristocrats,

蒐集者可能是統治者、貴族，

as well as merchants and early scientists.

還有商家和早期的科學家。

Now, who hears a circus organ?

現在，有人聽到管風琴的聲音嗎？

In the 1840s,

在西元1840年代，

an enterprising young showman named Phineas T. Barnum

一個積極進取的年輕藝人 菲尼亞斯T.巴納姆(Phineas T. Barnum)，

purchased some of the more famous cabinets of curiosity from Europe

從歐洲買進一些比較有名的古董展示櫃，

and started Barnum's American Museum in New York City.

開始美國紐約市的 巴納姆博物館展示。

A spectacular hodgepodge of zoo,

混雜了壯觀的動物展示秀、

lecture hall,

演講廳、

wax museum,

蠟像館、

theater,

電影院，

and freak show that was known for its eclectic residents,

以及奇特的展示品， 以五花八門的收藏品而聞名。

such as bears,

就像熊、

elephants,

acrobats,

大象、

雜技演員、

giants,

巨人、

Siamese twins,

連體嬰兒、

a Fiji mermaid,

斐濟美人魚

and a bearded lady,

和一個大鬍子的女士，

along with a host of modern machinery and scientific instruments.

隨著許多的現代化機械 和科學儀器發明。

Museums open to the public are a relatively new phenomenon.

博物館向公眾開放是 相對較新的現象。

Before Barnum, the first public museums

在巴納姆博物館開放之前，

were only accessible by the upper and middle classes,

只有上流社會與 中產階級可以進入，

and only on certain days.

而且只有在某些特定的日子。

Visitors would have to apply to visit the museum

遊客想要進入博物館，

in writing prior to admision,

必須事先以書面申請，

and only small groups could visit the museum each day.

而且每天只開放給小團體參觀。

The Louvre famously allowed all members of the public into the museum

巴黎羅浮宮允許 所有民眾進入博物館

but only three days a week.

但一週只開放三天。

In the 19th century,

在19世紀，

the museum as we know it began to take shape.

我們所熟知的博物館開始成形，

Institutions like the Smithsonian were started

有些機構，例如美國 史密森尼學會已經開始營運了。

so that objects could be seen and studied, not just locked away.

展示品可以被看到與研究， 而不只是鎖起來了。

American museums, in particular,

美國博物館

commissioned experiments

還特別聘請研究人員

and hired explorers to seek out and retrieve natural samples.

並雇用探險家蒐集自然標本。

Museums became centers for scholarship and artistic and scientific discovery.

博物館成為學問、 藝術和科學發現的中心。

This is often called the Museum Age.

這通常被稱為博物館時代。

Nowadays, museums are open to everybody,

如今，博物館對所有人開放，

are centers of learning and research,

是學習和研究的中心，

and are turning into more hands-on institutions.

而且正在轉向有較多 動手操作的展品。

But the question of who gets to go is still relevant

但是誰可以參加仍和票價有關。

as ticket prices can sometimes bar admission

票價能阻擋這些

to those future scholars, artists and targets of divine inspiration

無力負擔以滿足其好奇心的

who can't afford to satisfy their curiosity.

未來學者、藝術家、神職人員的參與。

Thank you all for coming, and please,

感謝各位的光臨，

feel free to stop by the gift shop of gift shops on your way out.

當你要離開時， 可以隨意逛逛禮品專賣店。