V.3.4 Pompeii. Casa della
Soffitta.
Excavated 1877, 1905. Restored 1979.
Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 1
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Tablinum on north side of portico, with three doorways and an aedicula lararium.
V.3.4 Pompeii, May 2005. North-west corner of portico with two white stuccoed and grooved columns.
According to NdS, in one of the grooves on the first column, a graffito of a head of a gladiator was found, with his profile turned to the left (0.085 high).
See Notizie
degli Scavi di Antichità, 1905, (p.206).
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Wall enclosing garden area in north-west corner of portico, painted with garden plants and birds.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Wall enclosing garden area in north-west corner of portico, painted with plants and birds.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Wall painted with plants and birds in the north-west corner of the portico. Looking south.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Painted wall.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Gutter along north and west side of the small wall around the garden area.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Garden area, looking south.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. South-east corner of garden area.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. East wall of tablinum, painted with large red panels with a medallion in their centres.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. North wall of tablinum.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. West wall of tablinum.
According to Sogliano, the walls of the tablinum were painted with six large red panels.
Each had a painted medallion in its centre, showing a flying griffin, except for the first one on the left (west) wall.
The first one on the left either had one that had faded away or had never existed.
The panel on the left was enclosed between two architectural motifs, on which each was adorned with a dolphin and garlands.
The frieze was also decorated with architectural motifs of panels, arabesques, garlands, roundels, flying swans, etc.
Below the frieze, and between it and the large red panel, was a broad yellow band.
The lower base of the wall was painted black, divided into panels, and decorated with painted plants.
See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1905,
(p.206)
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Ceiling of tablinum, restored with carved stone stucco, some painted blue, some red.
The ceiling, similar to the walls, was painted on a red background decorated with garlands, panels and flying swans and masks.
V.3.4 Pompeii. 25th July 1902.
Watercolour by Luigi Bazzani. Looking towards lararium in north-west corner of tablinum and showing detail of painted ceiling.
Now in Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, inv. no.
2338.
See Carratelli, G. P., 2003. Pompei: La documentazione nell'Opera di disegnatori e pittori dei
secoli XVIII e XIX. Roma: Istituto della enciclopedia italiana, p. 1023, fig. 1.
V.3.4 Pompeii, May 2005. North-west corner of tablinum, with aedicula lararium.
V.3.4 Pompeii, May 2005. Aedicula lararium.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. North-west corner of tablinum, with lararium.
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Lararium. Blue painted arched niche with shell crowned top and modelled internal stucco cornice.
The lararium originally had a roof with pediment, the remains of which can be seen above the shell.
The pediment was supported by two columns, the marks of which can be seen on the top of the podium.
Around the outside curve of the niche was a stucco cornice with an egg pattern.
See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p. 38, 111, Pl 38,1).
V.3.4 Pompeii. March 2009. Podium base of lararium. The podium was covered in stucco painted to look like red marble with insets.
The insets were of red rectangles and yellow diamonds with a large green slab in the centre of the two free sides.
The slab on the south side was circular whilst that on the east was diamond shaped.
A stucco cornice in red, white and blue runs along the top of the base.
See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p. 38, 111, Pl 38,1).
V.3.4 Pompeii but numbered as V.2.4 on photo. Pre-1937-39. Looking north to lararium in tablinum.
Photo courtesy of American Academy in Rome, Photographic Archive. Warsher collection no. 563.
V.3.4 Pompeii but numbered as V.2.4 on photo. Pre-1937-39. Looking north to lararium in tablinum.
Photo courtesy of American Academy in Rome, Photographic Archive. Warsher collection no. 592.