IX.8.6 Pompeii. Casa del Centenario or House of the Centenary

or Domus A Rustii Veri e Tiberius Claudi Veri.

Linked to IX.8.3, IX.8.8, IX.8.a, and IX.8.c. Excavated 1879, 1881 and 1902.

Part:       1        2        3        4        5        6        7        8        9        10        11        12        13        14        15       Plan

IX.8.6 Pompeii. September 2004. West portico, looking north.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. West portico, southern doorway in west wall leading to room 22.

Against the north wall in room 22, are the remains of the lower stone step of the stairs to the upper floor, and an overturned lava stone.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 23, lararium.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. September 2004. Room 23.

Servants quarters on west side of house. Household shrine or lararium.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. 1966.

Room 23, household shrine or lararium. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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IX.8.6 Pompeii. 1966. Room 23, household shrine or lararium. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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IX.8.6/a Pompeii. Photo dated May 1886. Lararium in kitchen area of House of the Centenary.

The Bacchus painting has been removed.

Photo courtesy of Society of Antiquaries. Fox Collection.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. 12th June 1882. Room 23, watercolour by Luigi Bazzani showing household shrine or lararium.

The Bacchus painting is not shown in this watercolour.

Photo © Victoria and Albert Museum. Inventory number 1063-1886.

According to Boyce –

Two low walls enclose a precinct (1.80 by 1.0) and within it is the lararium.

The outer surface of these walls is painted a uniform black, the inside - like the lower portions of the two walls of the room within the precinct – to represent yellow marble; along the top of the wall originally ran a wooden rail.

In the north wall of this precinct a space was left for the door.

In the centre of the space within the walls stands a small stone altar, consisting of a rectangular plinth supported upon a conical base; against the east and south walls outside of the precinct stand two masonry benches.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.89, no.448).

IX.8.6 Pompeii. Old photo no. 156, possibly just after excavation circa 1879-1881? 

Room 23. Servants’ quarters on west side of house.

Household shrine or lararium with Bacchus painting still in situ.

According to Boyce –

In the south wall within the precinct is a rectangular niche (h.0.56, w.0.51, d.0.26, h. above floor 1.25), adorned with an aedicula facade (h.1, w.0.64), of grey marble, consisting of a plain rectangular slab on each side of the niche, a pediment above and a heavy block (0.12 thick) projecting on the level of the floor. Within the niche a low step is built against the back wall and in front of it a circular depression for offerings is cut in the block that forms the floor. In the pediment is painted an owl. On the wall on each side of the niche is the painted figure of a Lar with rhyton and situla, standing between two trees.

On the adjoining east wall is the panel with the famous painting of Bacchus beside Vesuvius…….. (Now in Naples Museum).

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.89-90, no.448).

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009.

Room 23, lararium in south-east corner of room 22, atrium of servants’ quarters.

IX.8.3-6 Pompeii. Room 23, Lararium painting found in atrium of servants’ quarters. 

Lararium painting of Bacchus wearing a bunch of grapes. 

Also in the painting are a garland, birds and a serpent approaching a round altar from the left.     

Bacchus is pouring wine for the panther to drink. The mountain slopes are covered in vines.

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum.  Inventory number 112286.

See Fröhlich, T., 1991. Lararien und Fassadenbilder in den Vesuvstädten. Mainz: von Zabern. (L107, T: 11).

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.89, no.448 and Pl. 40, 2)

IX.8.3-6 Pompeii.

Room 23, detail from lararium painting found in atrium of servants’ quarters. 

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum.  Inventory number 112286. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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Kuivalainen comments –

“A fully covered Bacchus is the personification of the vine. The volcano has generally been identified as Vesuvius as it was before the eruption of 79AD, making this picture a local landscape; the owner of the house may have had vineyards on the slopes of the mountain. Or else it depicts Mount Nysa, where Bacchus was raised…………”

See Kuivalainen, I., 2021. The Portrayal of Pompeian Bacchus. Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum 140. Helsinki: Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, (p.116-18, C17).

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 23, remains of painted plaster under niche on south wall.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Doorway to room 24, looking south.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 24, west wall with niche.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 24, east wall with recess.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Doorway to room 25.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 25, south wall.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 25, north-east corner.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 25, east wall.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Doorway to room 26.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Doorway to room 26.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 26, south wall.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Doorway to room 27, and entrance at IX.8.a.

IX.8.3/6 Pompeii. December 2019.

Looking south along east wall from doorway into room 27, latrine. Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 27, latrine. Looking south.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. March 2009. Room 27, floor of latrine.

According to Hobson this latrine may have been a two-seater.

See Hobson, B. 2009. Pompeii, Latrines and Down Pipes. Oxford, Hadrian Books, (p.530-1).

IX.8.6 Pompeii. September 2004. Room 27, scratched graffito in plaster on east wall.

Above the printed card (small red numbered 3) would be CIL IV 5244, which was written all across the wall (part also in photo below), reading:

Marthae hoc trichlinium

est nam in trichlinio

cacat  -  (CIL IV 5244)

IX.8.6 Pompeii. September 2004. Room 27, scratched graffito in plaster on east wall.

At the top of the photo (small red numbered 1) would be CIL IV 5243, which read –

Memoria  (CIL IV 5243)

Higher on the wall (small red numbered 2) would be CIL IV 5242, which read –

quodam quidem testis eris quid senserim

vai cacaturiaro veniam

cacatum  (CIL IV 5242)

In the centre of the photo would be part of CIL IV 5244, see previous photo.

IX.8.3/6 Pompeii. December 2019.

Room 27, scratched graffito in plaster on east wall, and descriptive notice.

Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

IX.8.6 Pompeii. September 2004. Room 27, south-east corner.

Looking out from IX.8.6 to Vicolo del Centenario. September 2004

(Door shown on map as IX.8.a – but possibly renumbered to IX.8.11?)

Part:       1        2        3        4        5        6        7        8        9        10        11        12        13        14        15       Plan