第9章　小小珍品

因為你的財寶在那里，你的心也在那里。

——《圣經(jīng)·新約·馬太福音》6：21

我曾經(jīng)看到過一篇報道，其中介紹了為一座公共建筑而制作出來的一組雕塑。報紙上對這組雕塑的介紹，主要是說它重達十噸。報道并沒有評價說這組雕塑究竟是丑是美，只是說它們重達十噸。沒準兒是十噸煤炭呢。但是，僅憑尺寸可不會讓一個東西美麗起來。古希臘人曾經(jīng)制作出了一些巨型雕塑，并且都漂亮得很。他們還制作出了一些微型的雕塑作品；這些微雕的尺寸太小，人們只能用放大鏡去看，才能看得出它們是多么精美呢。

有一次，我在博物館里就看到了一件這樣的雕塑作品。它的重量絕對不會超過一盎司，尺寸還沒有一粒骰子大。那是一顆透光的五彩石子，上面雕刻了古希臘諸神的美麗形象，并且都是淺浮雕。諸神的形象都是用非常精細，但又非常鋒利的工具，雕刻在石頭上面。它是由某位古希臘雕塑家制作出來的，可如今卻無人知道這位雕塑家姓甚名誰了。這件雕塑被稱為“寶石”。如今，對于任何小而貴重的東西，我們都稱之為寶石哩。

great as those who made life-size and colossal-size figures.These gems were made for kings and wealthy people, for no others could afford them.Rich people long ago used to collect such gems as you might collect stamps.Today museums-and those who can afford it-still do so.

Often these tiny bits of low-relief sculpture were cut in a stone that had two or three layers of different colors so that the figures were one color and the background another. If one layer was black and the other white, the stone was called onyx.If the top layer was reddish and those below it white and black, it was called sardonyx.Such sculptured low reliefs were known as cameos, and some were very beautiful.Today cameos are made of shells with two color layers and are called shell cameos.Some are cut from two or more layers of different-colored stone cemented together or from artificial sardonyx.

There was another kind of gem made in great quantities, in which the figures were hollowed out or sunken instead of being raised. A gem of this sort was called a seal or intaglio, which means sunken.The seals were used to stamp a design in wax.The stamped impression made from the sunken relief was raised in wax, and one could

倫敦的大英博物館里有一整間藏室，里面全都是雕塑家們制作出來的這種寶石；而那些雕塑家，也與制作真人大小或者巨型塑像的雕塑家一樣偉大。這些寶石都是替國王和有錢人制作的，因為其他人不可能買得起這樣的東西。很久以前的有錢人經(jīng)常收藏這樣的寶石，就像你們?nèi)缃窦]一樣。而今天的博物館，以及那些有經(jīng)濟實力的人，也還在這樣做呢。

通常來說，這些微型的淺浮雕作品都是雕刻在一顆有兩三層不同顏色的石頭上，從而讓雕刻出來的人物是一種顏色，背景又是另一種顏色。假如一層是黑色，另一層是白色，這樣的石頭就被稱為“黑瑪瑙”。假如最頂上的那一層是紅色，而下面的一層是黑白相間的話，就叫作“纏絲瑪瑙”。這樣雕刻出來的淺浮雕，人們稱之為“石雕”，其中有一些作品雕刻得非常精美。如今，石雕都是用有兩層顏色的貝殼雕制而成的，因而被稱為“貝雕”。有些石雕則是切下兩層或者多層不同顏色的石子粘貼起來后再雕刻而成，或者是用人造纏絲瑪瑙雕刻而成的。

還有一種大量雕刻的寶石，其中的圖案都是鏤空或者凹陷下去，而不是向上凸起的。這種寶石被稱為“印章”或者“凹雕”；所謂的“凹雕”，就是凹陷下去的雕塑。這種印章，是用于在蜂蠟上壓印出圖案來。凹雕在蜂蠟上按壓后形成的壓

make as many stamped impressions with the seal as he or she liked.Each person who could afford it had such a seal with a special design all his own to stamp everything he wished to mark with his own hand.Everyone would then know he alone had made the impression.These seals are similar to the cylinder stamps that the Assyrians, who lived long before the Romans, used to sign their names.

Back in the days when few people knew how to write-or even how to sign their names-these seals were used to make marks that served the same purpose as signatures. Sometimes the seal was fitted into a finger ring that was worn by the owner so that no one else could use it.Such rings were called signet rings, or signing rings.Sometimes the seal was not mounted in a ring but was kept in a safe place so that no one but the owner could use it.

Have you ever collected coins?Many people do. Perhaps you would never think of such coins as a kind of sculpture, but that is what old coins are-pieces of low-relief sculpture.The Greeks used to make the most beautiful coins with heads or figures of famous people or gods on them in low relief.First they made a die that was a sunken relief, and then coins were stamped out of metal-gold, silver or bronze-with the die.

One difference between a coin and a gem is that a coin is made from a die and any number of the same coin can be made from one die. But a gem is one of a kind and cannot be duplicated.The coins of some countries today are really beautiful but not quite as beautiful as those the ancient Greeks made.One reason for this is that today our coins have to be made quite flat, or in very low relief, so that they will stack in a pile, for this

痕，是向上凸起的，而人們也可以用印章壓出許多的圖案來，想印多少就印多少。當時凡是買得起印章的人，都有一枚這樣的印章，上面刻有屬于自己的專用圖案，可以親手在想要打上標記的任何東西上蓋下自己的印章。這樣一來，大家便都明白，這個印記是他蓋上的了。這些印章，與古亞述人的柱形印章類似；古亞述人所處的時期要比古羅馬人早得多，當時他們常常是用柱形印章來簽名的。

在還沒有幾個人會寫字，或者說甚至沒有幾個人會簽自己大名的古代，人們用這些印章蓋印的作用，與如今的簽名是一樣的。有的時候，人們會把印章做成戒指戴在手上；這樣一來，除了自己，別人就沒法使用印章了。這種戒指，就叫“印戒”，也就是簽名戒指。有的時候，人們不會將印章鑲嵌在戒指上，而是會將其藏在安全的地方，因而除了印章的主人，任何人都別想使用這一印章了。

你們有沒有收集過硬幣呢？許多人都有這一愛好。或許，你們根本就沒有想過，這些硬幣也是一種雕塑呢；可古幣事實上也是一種雕塑，是一種淺浮雕哩。古希臘人曾經(jīng)制作出了最漂亮的錢幣，上面用淺浮雕的方式雕刻有名人、神靈的頭像或者全身像。他們首先會制作出一種凹浮雕模具，然后再用這種模具沖壓出金屬硬幣來；而所用的金屬，則是黃金、白銀，或者青銅。

硬幣與寶石之間的一大區(qū)別，便在于硬幣是用模具沖壓出來的，并且一個模具能夠壓制出大量的同一種硬幣來。可寶石雕品卻是獨一無二、不可復制的。雖說如今一些國家里發(fā)行的硬幣確實非常漂亮，可它們還是沒有古希臘人制作的那樣精美。之所以如此，原因之一便在于，如今我們的硬幣必須制作得非常平整，或者說

is necessary in our banks.But it was not necessary to stack the old Greek coins in piles, so they could be made in higher relief.

Coins were, of course, used to buy things, but there were old coin-like sculptures called medals that generally were larger and were not used as money. The figures on medals were often in higher relief and were made by pouring the metal into a mold instead of by stamping the metal with a die.Usually such medals were made for prizes in athletic games, honors in war, or to celebrate some great event, anniversary, or celebration.Medals of this kind are still made today.Perhaps you know someone who has won such a medal and you can see for yourself.

只能用非常淺的淺浮雕工藝，從而讓它們可以疊放起來，因為銀行需要這樣。可古希臘人卻不需將錢幣堆疊起來，因而硬幣上的圖案可以制成較深的高浮雕。

錢幣自然是用來買東西的，可還有一些樣子很像古幣的、叫作勛章的雕塑作品，它們雖說尺寸通常都比錢幣要大，卻不是用來當錢幣使用的。勛章上的圖案通常都是高浮雕，并且是將金屬熔液倒入模具澆鑄出來，而不是用模具沖壓金屬制成的。這種勛章，一般都是為了獎勵運動會上的獲勝者，表彰戰(zhàn)爭中的立功者，或者紀念某一重大事件、周年紀念或者慶典而制作出來的。人們?nèi)缃袢匀粫谱鬟@樣的勛章呢。沒準，你們認識的某個人曾經(jīng)就獲得過這樣的勛章；那樣的話，你們就可以親自去看一看這種勛章了。