I.10.7 Pompeii. Casa del Fabbro or House of the Smith or House of the Craftsman
or Domus and officina of M. Volusius Iuvencus and the Equitia.
Excavated 1914, 1927 and 1933.
Part 5 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Plan
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 7, tablinum, looking south-east.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Door in west wall of tablinum, leading to room 8.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Doorway in south wall of room 8, from kitchen area.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 8, wall painting of the Sacrifice of Sophonisba, a banqueting scene, from north wall.
According to NdS –
“Of the three paintings which decorated the walls of this room, the one from the east wall was completely ruined by the fall of the wall,
the one from the west wall was strongly deteriorated, the only one found in a good condition of conservation was the one from the north wall.”
See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1934, p.282.
1.10.7 Pompeii. 1934. Room 8, north wall, wall painting of the Sacrifice of Sophonisba.
See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1934,
p.283, fig. 9.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 8, painted garden decoration around the lower section of the walls of the north wall.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009.
Room 8, remains of a wall painting from the west wall. There is a leaning figure in yellow, on the right.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 8, painted garden decoration around the lower section of the walls.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 8, painted decoration.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 8, painted decoration in south-west corner.
I.10.7 Pompeii. Room 8, drawing of geometric design on ceiling with figures.
See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1934, Tav X.
On page 282, the ceiling is described –
“The beautiful ceiling with black background with diamond weaves and yellow and red squares, and a central square adorned with a feminine figure, of an elegant geometric pattern, whose fragments were largely collected from the ground, recomposed and relocated (Tav. X) in situ.
In the antechamber the design of the ceiling varies a little, in the pattern that was given by a dense interweaving of small squares and Greek crosses.”
(Completava il
carattere sobriamente decorativo dell’insieme, il bel soffitto a fondo nero con
intreccio di rombi e quadrati gialli e rossi, e quadrato centrale ornato da un
figura femminile, di elegante motivo geometrico, i cui frammenti vennero in
buona parte raccolti dal suolo, ricomposti e ricollocati (Tav.X) in situ.
Nell’anticamera
il disegno del soffitto varia di poco, nel motivo che era dato da un fitto
intreccio di piccolo quadrati e di croci greche.) (p.282)
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 11, kitchen. Looking west towards stairs to upper floor.
According to NdS –
this brick stairs led up by 7 steps to another set of 7 steps which led to a terrace, and perhaps to the upper rooms.
See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1934, (p.280.)
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 11, looking west across kitchen
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 11, hearth against west wall.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 11, south wall.
Remains of lararium, with painting of two serpents.
According to Boyce, the west end of the portico was closed off as a kitchen.
On the south wall beside the large hearth was a panel of white stucco.
Within were painted two large coiling serpents, yellow with scales indicated in red.
Both have a crest and beard and a protruding tongue.
Both coil from the left, one above the other, approaching a marble slab adorned with a lion’s head in relief.
This was set into the corner formed by the hearth and the south wall of the room at the level of their heads.
In the background were plants.
See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1934,
282, and fig.8.
See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.29, no.56, and Pl.27, 2)
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 11, remains of lararium on south wall.
The heads of the two serpents, one above the other, can just be made out slightly above the white marble shelf.
I.10.7 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 11, south-west corner, remains of lararium, with two serpents.
See Fröhlich, T., 1991. Lararien und Fassadenbilder in den Vesuvstädten. Mainz: von Zabern. (L16).
I.10.7 Pompeii. Old undated photo. Room 11, south-west corner, remains of lararium, with two serpents.
Part 5 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Plan