鹦鹉螺杯的奢华传奇The Nautilus shells Cup

Nautilus shells were popular items in the Renaissance cabinet of curiosities and were often mounted by goldsmiths on a thin stem to make extravagant nautilus shell cups, such as the Burghley Nef, mainly intended as decorations rather than for use. Small natural history collections were common in mid-19th-century Victorian homes, and chambered nautilus shells were popular decorations.
鹦鹉螺壳是好奇心重的文艺复兴时期很受欢迎的架上装饰品，由金匠们来奢侈地装饰薄薄的鹦鹉螺壳，其装饰作用大于实用价值。自然历史收藏品是很常见的19世纪维多利亚时期的家庭装饰品，经过镶嵌装饰的鹦鹉螺壳在当时很流行。

Drinking vessels made of a nautilus shell combined a natural marvel and fine craftsmanship in a useful object. It may be difficult to imagine drinking from such an elaborate cup, but they were used only for special occasions.
Dutch artists made a number of nautilus cups during the 17th century, when shells of the chambered nautilus were imported from Indonesia. The Dutch East India Company established one of the first large multinational corporations there, resulting in millions of tons of goods shipped on thousands of vessels. This trade enriched the Netherlands and is reflected in the exotic seashells and other imported objects seen in many Dutch still-life paintings of that century.
鹦鹉螺杯是自然奇迹和精工细作结合下的实用饮具，很难想象如何饮用这样一个精美的杯子，但它们只用于特殊场合。
这种收藏品中的珍品很受欢迎。荷兰艺术家在17世纪制作了很多鹦鹉螺杯，当时鹦鹉螺的贝壳是从印尼进口的。荷兰东印度公司是第一个大型跨国公司的之一，对外交易了数百万吨的货品，内含几千个鹦鹉螺杯。这种贸易使荷兰富有，富有异国情调的鹦鹉螺杯可以在那个世纪的许多荷兰静物画中看到。

613-1614 Dutch Cup at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London - From the curators' comments: "Seventeenth-century artists and collectors regarded the nautilus as one of Nature's masterpieces and as a result nautilus shells were often given elaborate and precious mounts. These mounts often transformed the shell into a decorative cup, which showcased both the pearly beauty of the nautilus and the skill of the goldsmith's art."
1613-1614年的荷兰鹦鹉螺杯，在伦敦的维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆展出。策展人：“十七世纪的艺术家和收藏家视鹦鹉螺为大自然的杰作之一，因此鹦鹉螺贝壳往往拥有精心设计制作的底座。这些底座将鹦鹉螺壳升华为精湛的艺术品，展示了鹦鹉螺本身珍珠光泽的美和金匠的艺术功力。