The mission of the museum here is to show the achievements of Islamic civilization, Islamic culture through great works of art. The building is a fitting place in which to show a collection here, which is all of extraordinary good quality. It started off with the royal family acquiring some pieces, then came very soon the vision of forming a national museum with this intention of showing the achievements of Islamic culture. And then the collecting has been devoted to that end since that moment. And yes, the museum is still acquiring pieces. We've acquired some very, very important pieces over the last year since we opened.
這個博物館的使命，是要透過傑出的藝術作品展現伊斯蘭文明、伊斯蘭文化的成就。這棟建築是一個展示收藏品的合適空間，收藏品全是上乘之作。一切使於皇室家族獲得一些藝術品，不久後打造一座國家博物館的構想出現，帶有展現伊斯蘭文化成就的意圖。從那刻起就為此投入於藏品收集。是的，博物館目前仍在收受藝術品。從我們開幕的過去一年來，我們已經獲得一些十分、十分重要的作品。
I find these pieces very interesting, because they illustrate the global reach of Islamic culture and influence. These are a pair of Alberelli. You probably think of "Alberelli" as being a very typically Italian form, but in fact, both the shape and the function are much earlier Islamic invention, used as they are later in Europe as containers for medical products. These would have formed part of a very large set of such vessels, which were made in Damascus and then exported with the medical contents inside. And of course, in medicine, it was the Islamic world that led the world in scientific medicine right up until the 17th century, when discoveries in Europe finally overtook the Islamic medieval practice.
我發現這些作品非常有意思，因為它們說明伊斯蘭文化及影響力的世界範圍。這是一對 Alberelli 的作品。你可能視「Alberelli」為一種非常典型的義大利形式，但事實上，那外形和功能兩者都是更久遠前的伊斯蘭發明，當後來它們到歐洲時被用來當作盛裝醫療產品的容器。這些是一大套此類器皿中的一部分，那些器皿在大馬士革製造，然後連同裡面的醫療內容物一起出口。當然，在醫學上，正是伊斯蘭世界在科學醫學領域引導著全球，直到 17 世紀為止，那時在歐洲的發現才終於超越伊斯蘭中世紀時的醫療技術。
This is a bottle made of a dark blue glass with enamelled decoration on the top and with some gild...gold decoration, faded decoration as well. One of the earliest provinces that the Islamic Empire took, when it first expanded out of Arabia, was Syria. And Syria was the center of Roman glass-making.
這是個頂部帶有搪瓷裝飾，以深藍琉璃製成的瓶子，還有一些鍍金...黃金裝飾，以及一些褪色的裝飾。伊斯蘭帝國最早攻下的地方之一－－在帝國首度拓展到阿拉伯以外時－－是敘利亞。而敘利亞是羅馬琉璃製造的中心。
This, perhaps, represents one of the kind of very high points of Islamic glass-making
with the painted enamels in the different colors and the painted gold. The essential technology, the interesting thing is you can run a continual line of development from glass way back in the classical world, long before the Islamic period, into the Islamic period, tremendous development then, and then further going on from that; in this case, particularly into Europe, into Italy and then later into Europe.
或許，這代表那種伊斯蘭琉璃製造巔峰時期之一，對應著那各式顏色和黃金著色的鮮豔釉彩。這個基本的工藝技術，有趣的事是，你可以由遠早在古典世界的琉璃畫出一條綿延不絕的文明發展軌跡，古典世界遠在伊斯蘭時期前，再進到伊斯蘭時期 (那時有驚人的發展)，然後從那時期更進一步前進，就這裡來說，特別是進到歐洲、進到義大利，然後稍後進到歐洲。
This whole project is driven by the Emir and Sheikha Al Mayassa, who had, I think, the original vision for this and started the original collection, and then the choice of the architect and the setting up of the Qatar Museum Authority and so far has all come from the very top. And it's thanks to their vision and support for this that the Qatar is able to present a piece of world-class architecture containing a world-class collection.
這整個計畫是由埃米爾(穆斯林統治者)以及Sheikha Al Mayassa 所啟發的，他們，我想是擁有這計畫最初構想和開始最初收藏作品的人，然後建築師以及卡達博物館當局的組成人選，至今全是來自非常頂尖的人選。正是多虧了他們對此的構想和支持，卡達才能夠呈獻一座容納一系列世界級收藏品的世界級建築物。
To have a chance to serve in an institution like this, a brand-new museum, a brand-new building of this importance and this splendor with the collection of this quality, is something that... Very few people have the opportunity in a life time. I'm immensely privileged to be able to help in this project.
擁有一個在這樣一個機構內服務的機會，一座全新的博物館，一座有這樣重要性的嶄新建築，還有這般高品質收藏品帶來的這種壯麗，是一件... 很少人一生中能有這樣的機會。我非常榮幸能在這個計畫中進行協助。
- 「開始」- Start Off
It started off with the royal family acquiring some pieces, then came very soon the vision of forming a national museum with this intention of showing the achievements of Islamic culture.
一切使於皇室家族獲得一些藝術品，不久後打造一座國家博物館的構想出現，帶有展現伊斯蘭文化成就的意圖。 - 「為了達成某目的」- To That End
And then the collecting has been devoted to that end since that moment.
從那刻起就為此投入於藏品收集。
