?ili# ^f^i y H.< , <.''f'w ^.- '':•!,'•; yMs'ms'^ ''^.'■iK I,,' \ \:l)',,t.t '- ,1 '■■■ •-■■V//:! , ),' ■, , ■',I■V.•.■^ '. i Efi-r V,r'';^';-''-w"' '■''■>!■'•/'':'■''■ - ./• ■< ■'■' ':;f^^^- •,'■ t;:-:r.^;;.i'.A::;, w ^:V^-^-m: :?''"' ■'>':' < POMPEII -.-'!fh' m-' ifl J DHMD H ITS DESTRUCTION AND RE-DISCOVERY ENGRAVINGS SND DESCRIPTIONS OK IHE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ITS INHABITANTS. BY SIR WILLIAM GELL and J. P. GANDY. Ars longa, vita breuis. NEW YORK R. WORTHINGTON, IMPORTER 770 BROADWAY LIST OF THE ENGRAVINGS. THE SITE OF POMPEII. ENGRAVED TITLE WITH POMPEIAN DESIGNS. WALL OF A CUBICULUM. PORTAL OF A HOUSE. PAINTING IN A HOUSE BEHIND THE PANTHEON. STATUE OF EUMACHIA. PILLARS AND PEDESTALS IN THE FORUM. ALTAR OF JUPITER. PAINTING OF MARS AND VENUS. GENERAL VIEW OF THE PANTHEON. PAINTED PORTICO, PANTHEON. PAINTING OF PENELOPE AND ULYSSES. THESEUS AND .^:THRA. THALIA. RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLE OF FORTUNE. VIEW FROM THE ROOF OF THE THERMS. GENERAL VIEW OF THE THERMS. SECTION OF THE THERM.*:. FRIGIDARIUM. NATATIO. TEPIDARIUM. CEILING OF THE TEPIDARIUM. LACONICUM. SECTION OF THE LACONICUM. FRIGIDARIUM AND PISCINA IN THE WOMEN'S BATHS. EXTERIOR OF WOMEN'S BATHS. HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. POET'S HOUSE RESTORED. WINDOWS OF ATRIUM. THE DEPARTURE OF BRISEIS. • ACHILLES. PELEUS AND THETIS. VENUS. ARIADNE. POET READING. MOSAIC. SACRIFICE OF IPHIGENIA. VI LIST OF THE ENGRAVINGS. SIDE OF THE CHAMBER OF LEUA. LEDA AND TYNDAREUS. ARIADNE. FUELONICA. PICTURE IN THE FULLONICA. THE FOUNTAIN OF SHELLS. COMIC .SCENE. GARDEN AND PORTICO. PAINTING OF A POET. A PAINTING. A PAINTING. STREET OF THE MERCURIES. HOUSE OF CERES. PERISTYLE OF THE HOUSE OF THE DIOSCURL COURT OF THE PISCINA. JUPITER. PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA. HYGEIA. ACHILLES IN SYCROS. VICTORY. PENELOPE. ACHILLES BATHED IN THE STYX. SATURN. COMIC SCENE. COMIC SCENE. PH^DRA AND HIPPOLYTUS. BACCHUS AND A FAWN. WALL AND DOOR OF THE CORINTHIAN PERISTYLE. DRINKINCi SCENE. WAGON AND HORSES. MARS AND VENUS. DREAM OF RHEA. STAIRS FOR MOUNTING THE WALL. GATE OF ISIS. VIGNETTES. THE GENIUS OF PAINTING. MALE AND FEMALE BACCHANALIAN DANCERS. FOUNTAIN OF MERCURY. SEDENT APOLLO. MALE AND FEM.ALE BACCHANALIAN DANCERS. POMPEII AND ITS DESTRUCTION AND RE-DISCOVERY PAISTISO FOUND OS THE WALL OF THE PANTHEON.* POMPEII AND ITS DESTRUCTION AND RE-DISCOVERY. ( "T^OMPEII was originally situated close to the sea, although, owing to the J7 gradual elevation of the land, it is now at some distance inland. Shells and sea-sand have been found by digging on the side adjoining the coast ; and it is even said that rings have been found close to the ruins, intended, as is supposed, for the mooring of vessels?) The authority of Strabo has been quoted to confirm this, but his words go at least equally to prove that * The lower figure evidently represents Painting, for she has her pallette in her left hand, and, in the right, is holding a species of recipient in the form of a candiilabra, into which a Genius or Muse i_s dropping a fresh colour, passlbly alluding to the painting of this very poikilos, or painted portico at Pompeii, which was probably considered as the perfection of Art. 9 lo POMPEII. the trade of the place was carried on by the river Sarnus, which ran past the city. If so, this stream has shrunls; among the other physical changes which have occurred in the country ; for it now is nothing more than a rivulet, entirely unsuited to any purposes of trade, which runs at some dis- tance from its ancient course, and falls into the sea between Pompeii and Stabiae. (From the position of the town and the discoveries made by die excavators, it is clear that only three principal roads could have led to it. The first, which was on the western side, led to Naples along the coast through Oplontis, Retina, and Herculaneum ; the second joined the Popilian way at Nola ; and the third crossed the Sarnus, and afterwards divided into two branches, of which the principal led to Nocera, and the other to Stabiae. (The city stood on an insulated spot formed by lava j which seems to have burst from the ground in that place, as in others around the foot of Vesuvius; for this country has been affected by subterranean fires from the remotest antiquity. Thus situated, it appeared to possess all local advantages that the most refined taste could desire. Upon the verge of the sea, at the entrance of a fertile plain, on the bank of a navigable river, it united the conveniences of a commercial town with the security of a military station, and the romantic beauty of a spot celebrated in all ages for its pre-eminent loveliness. Its environs, even to the heights of Vesuvius, were covered with villas, and the coast all the way to Naples was so ornamented with gardens and villages, that the shores of the whole gulf appeared as one city; while the prodigious concourse of strangers who came here in search of health and recreation, added new charms and life to the scene. But these advantages were dearly purchased. An enemy, at that time unknown, was silently working its destruction : an enemy which from time to time still desolates the modern towns which stand upon the buried and long-forgotten cities of antiquity. Seneca has recorded an earthquake already mentioned, antecedent by sixteen years to the great eruption of Vesuvius, which took place on the 1 6th February, a. d. 63, threw down a great part of Pompeii, and consider- ably injured Herculaneum. " A herd," he says, " of six hundred sheep were swallowed up, statues were split, and many persons lost their reason." The following year another earthquake took place whilst Nero was singing at Naples ; the building, unfortunately, fell immediately after the emperor had left it. Vestiges of the injury done by these shocks may even now be seen in the houses which have been excavated at Pompeii, where the mosaic floors POMPEII. II are often much out of their level, twisted and broken; and show the repairs which had been made by the inhabitants themselves. These alarms, the usual presages of a near eruption, were from time to * time repeated until the 23d of August, a. u. 79, the day on which, after a cessation of ages, the first recorded volcanic paroxysm of Vesuvius occurred. By an unusual good fortune we are in possession of a faithful narrative, furnished by an eye-witness of the catastrophe which overwhelmed Pompeii, and provided a subject for this volume. It is contained in two letters of Pliny the younger to Tacitus, which record the death of his uncle, who fell a victim to his inquiring spirit and humanity. "Your request that I would send you an account of my uncle's death, in order to transmit a more exact relation of it to posterity, deserves my acknowledgments; for, if this accident shall be celebrated by your pen, the glory of it, I am well assured, will be rendered for ever illustrious. And notwithstanding he perished by a misfortune, which, as it involved at the same time a most beautiful country in ruins, and destroyed so many populous cities, seems to promise him an everlasting remembrance; notwith- standing he has himself composed many and lasting works; yet I am persuaded the mentioning of' him in your immortal works will greatly contribute to eternize his name. Happy I esteem those to be, whom Prov- idence has distinguished with the abilities either of doing such actions as are worthy of being related, or relating them in a manner worthy of being read; but doubly happy are they who are blessed with both these uncommon talents; in the number of which my uncle, as his own writings and your history will evidently prove, may justly be ranked. It is with extreme willingness, therefore, I execute your commands; and should indeed have claimed the task, if you had not enjoined it. He was at that time with the fleet under his command at Misenum. On the 24th of August, about one in the afternoon, my mother desired him to observe a cloud which appeared of a very unusual size and shape. He had just returned from taking the benefit of the sun.* and after bathing himself in cold water, and taking a slight repast, was retired to his study. He immediately arose and went out upon an eminence, from whence he might more distinctly view this very uncommon appearance. It was not at that distance discernible from what mountain this cloud issued, but it was found afterwards to ascend from Mt. • The Romans used to lie or walk n.iked in the siin, after anointing; their hiKlies with oil, which was esteemed as greatly contrihuliiig tn health. an*i aTyato-VGWn., Iky^MndATantal l77«nMr Si IP © M F IB HE. irAB.S AND VEMTTS GENERAL VIEW OF THE PANTHEON. THIS plate represents the general view of the Court of the College of the Augustales, so commonly called the Pantheon that a stranger would find it by no other name. The drawing is taken from the extremity nearest to the Forum. The indications of the bases of the columns are visible on the pavement, but none of the shafts now remain. The twelve piers, or square pilasters which probably supported a dome or roof in the centre of the hypaethrum, but which some imagine to have been pedestals for the statues of twelve gods, are distinguishable. The opposite side of the quadrangle is occupied by a temple or sacellum in the centre, with an apartment on each side. In the temple were niches for statues. It is probable that there were no pillars on that side of the court nearest to the cell, the front of which would have been impaired and its light diminished by a colonnade in that position. Among the reasons for supposing this to have been a building belonging to the Augustales is an inscription on an outer wall: " . . . . amini Augustali spdali Augustali . . . ." PAINTED PORTICO, PANTHEON. THIS plate, which from its small dimensions is not capable of containing- a sufficient breadth of the black panels on each side to give its full value to the perspective here represented, may, nevertheless, convey some idea of the beautiful effect produced by the paintings on the walls of this portico. In the centre of these large black divisions are placed the pictures, of which the outlines will be given, and to which the contrast of color almost imparts the appearance of being seen through a window in the wall. The sky seems to have been left nearly white, but the architecture in the back- ground is tinted with the aerial purple of distance. Over the portico, seen on the left through the arch, a pergula, or trellis work, of vines, such as occurs in modern Italy, is visible. On the right may be seen the manner in which the ancients sometimes applied the Doric order to the upper story of a private dwelling. The figure approaching through the opening- may have been that of the painter himself. The little pediments of the shrines on each side are exceedingly graceful, and the two pictures with boats, though scarcely distinguishable on so small a scale, were, when first dis- covered, clear and perfect. The figure with the lyre in the lower compart- ment is not positively that which occupies that situation, but being more graceful than that which happens to fill this place, has been selected from among many now existing in the portico. 9^ia ^ ^j£*efefe»jj»)^jfe ! /^ ^Msm ^^^^gy::^r^o^)C:j.^orDr:»:j)^^^ l»r»»jilrf SirWGfOl F^MJPSX.: WAI.I. OP TllK PAN' PAINTING OF PENELOPE AND ULYSSES. IT is of consequence to preserve everything whicli can convey to us tlie conceptions which the ancients themselves formed on the subjects con- nected with poetry and history before dress and manners had undergone that complete change which took place soon after the general introduction of Christianity. By collecting the materials which Pompeii and Herculaneum have already furnished, and may hereafter supply, we shall probably, ere long, have the means of forming editions of the writers of antiquity, and decorating our classical and mythological dictionaries with figures and illus- trations which the ancients themselves might have approved, but which have hitherto been attempted in vain. This picture refers to the nineteenth book of the Odyssey, where Penelope is represented as inquiring of the supposed mendicant stranger for tidings of Ulysses. Penelope is clothed in a violet- colored tunic and a white mantle, or perhaps a species of veil. She holds the materials for spinning in her hand. Ulysses has a white tunic and a yellow chlamys, or a pallium. The attendant, Eurynome, is also represented. The size of the picture is about three feet by two feet six. The total absence of affectation in this, and indeed almost every effort of ancient art, is one of its distinguishing characteristics. V)niwn hjr 3 !*• W ?".">■' . I' E t! B -L O P W AND V I. V S S S S ?Jij^r«ii^ 5j y. ^Ottt. THESEUS AND ^ETHRA. THIS is a picture in the Pantheon from the wall of that portico which might well have been called the Poikilos of Pompeii. The subject seems to have been taken from the story of Theseus, at the moment when he recovers his father's sword by raising the enormous stone under which it had been concealed. His mother yEthra sits near, and seems explaining the circumstance to Theseus, whose force had thus been proved according to the order of his father. Theseus is dressed in two tunics, one of which, fastened with a fibbia on the shoulder, is white, and the other purple. .^thra is dressed in a robe of yellow colour. The ground of this painting has been left white, thus producing a striking contrast with the broad panel of black which surrounds it. This picture has suffered so much from exposure that perhaps little of its beauty can now be traced. To fill up the plate a colored border is introduced above, and below is a pavement of very fanciful figures in black and white marble. ■: T H Pv A fn^randA- ?n-dni WfnMer o s«r y ]s I s , >*- THALIA. THIS plate, with the two preceding, has been engraved for the work called the Museo Borbinico, at Naples, but as that production, owing to its treating of many subjects together, has but a very limited sale on the spot, and is little known elsewhere, it may have its value, the Muses being precisely those who are liable to suffer most under the hands of a modern artist. The Muse Thalia is here represented sitting with a species of golden tiara on her head. Her garment is yellow. She holds a pedum, or hooked stick, in her hand, and has a mask and wreath on her lap. A drum or tympanum, also appertaining to tragic exhibitions, is near, and a graceful female, possibly a sister muse, leans upon the back of her chair. T H A r. I A . RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLE OF FORTUNE. THIS restoration of the Temple of Fortune and the triumphal arch is necessary to give an idea of the original features of the place, now so disfigured as to be almost unintelligible to an uninformed spectator. The altars on which sacrifices were offered could never have been placed within those temples of the ancients, which were not hypaethral, and many proofs might be brought to show that even those of hypaethral temples were placed at some distance in front, like the great altar before the eastern portico of the Parthenon at Athens. The triumphal arch supported an equestrian statue of bronze, thought to be that of Tiberius or Caligula, the fragments of which were found below. The fountains probably existed, because the remains of water pipes are still found in the masonry of the arch, though it is not easy to ascertain the exact manner in which they were employed, but it is to be remarked that the arch fronting this at the entrance of the Forum had also its fountain or reservoir of water. The actual appearance of this spot having been first drawn with the camera lucida, the objects have been restored upon that drawing, in order to render intelligible its ancient aspect to those who are in need of such assistance, without the possibility of erring widely from the truth. Above the arch is placed the inscription, "Augusto Caesari parenti patriae," which was on marble, and which, loris says, was positively found near the spot. VIEW FROM THE ROOF OF THE THERMS. THIS view has little to recommend it as picturesque, but it gives, very perspicuously, the Portico of the Temple of Fortune, and exhibits, in the clearest manner, the external appearance of the dome, or cone, which was erected over the circular piscina, or natatorium, of the baths, the inside view of which is given in another plate. This dome probably terminated in a point, which, projecting above the soil, had been destroyed by time and the labors of agriculture not long after the great eruption. The window may have been of glass, and, probably, grated on one side, so as to prevent the gratification of idle curiosity. The interior seems to have been painted blue or black. The circular top here shown must have always been known to the labourer, but, being full of earth, it was probably considered as nothing more than an old cistern. The wall on the right, in the fore-ground, positively arose to the outer surface of the soil, and its summit remained after the excavation covered with the vegetable productions which a very thin layer of earth permitted to grow upon it, as here represented. The window seen on the right hand, behind the cone, is that of the frigidarium, which was glazed in four divisions, fastened by a copper bar in the form of a cross. f^ / ( N GENERAL VIEW OF THE THERMS. THIS view represents the whole excavation of the insula of the thermae from the little street, or vicus, on the right, opposite the door of the house of Pansa, to the angle near the arch of Caligula or of Augustus, and the Temple of Fortune, and from thence to the triumphal arch at the entrance of the Forum. The arch of Caligula only intercepts a very unim- portant portion toward the right. The view was taken before the excavation of the house called that of Ceres was completed, from the vineyard above that dwelling. In the distance is seen the high mountain of Saint Angelo, behind Castella Mare. The three arches of the thermse occupy the centre. That on the left is the frigidarium, the next the tepidarium, and the third the caldarium, or laco- nicum. The part which appears on the right of the arch of Caligula is that which perhaps was dedicated to females. About half way down the street, toward the arch of the Forum, is the door of entrance to the court of the thermae. s Pi X ^ o z SECTION OF THE THERM/E. THIS section is given immediately after the view to render it more intelligible. It is to be understood that the arches were not, in ancient times, visible from without, but are now exposed by the fall of a considerable part of the vaults on the north. The dome or cone of the natatio is seen restored above the frigidarium on the left. The tepidarium seems to have been warmed only by the large foculare given by Vaccula, having his symbol, the cow, of bronze in the centre. The caldarium, with its orifices or vents for the escape of the vapour, is the arch on the right, and its pavement is suspended in such a manner that the heated air from the furnace is enabled to warm it in every part. A black line, rising from this hypocaust, represents a cavity in the masonry by which the lateral walls of the chamber are heated. To the right of this was the furnace, and, above it, was a brazen caldron, the form of which might be learned from the bed of mortar which had enclosed it. This caldron was called also the caldarium, that above it the tepidarium and the uppermost the frigidarium, and they were so contrived by means of something of the nature of a syphon, that when the water was drawn off for the bath an equal quantity descended simultaneously from the second to the lowest caldron, and from the uppermost to the second, while the reservoir discharged itself into the frigidarium. From the form in which the cement remains, in which the brazen caldrons were imbedded, there can be little doubt that they were placed in the manner here represented. There may, however, have been more than one set of these vases, and possibly there might have been three placed one behind the other where the ruin is somewhat confused. One of these sets of vases might have been appropriated to the uses of the labrum. r FRIGIDARIUM. A VIEW of the frigidarium of the Thermae. Some part of the vault remains, and shows that it was ornamented with yellow panels, bor- dered with red. The door on the left is the entrance from the court. That on the right shows a part of the circular natatio, and one of the scholae, or recesses. The window is not in the centre of the vault, nor is anything very exacdy symmetrical. The cornice is painted with griffins and lyres, now nearly effaced. The hole under the window was for the lamp. Several holes in the wall, on the left, were filled by small rafters, which supported shelves, on which were arranged the clothes of the visitors, or the towels of the establishment. The door on the right, half seen, opens into the tepidarium. It is not a litde curious that the species of Titan on the right, under the window, seems to be using a vase of the shape usually assigned to Bacchus, instead of a shield, as that god himself is said to have done, according to a Greek author named Aristides. A kulis was a cup with two handles, for the author found one at Athens with the name upon it: "This is the kulix of," etc. NATATIO. THE natatio is circular, and its roof a dome or cone. It may have been painted blue above, but its present hue is nearly black. Of the scholse, or recesses, two are here shown colored blue with red alcoves. The walls w^ere yellow, and in the centre, between the two recesses a brazen spout threw the water into the piscena or cistern across the ambulatory, which, like the vase, was covered with white marble. Below the dome is a frieze, painted red and ornamented with what are now only the vestiges of bassi relievi in stucco, representing horse, chariot and foot races. It is the only literally perfect natatio at present known to exist. klys. ■:-.S-i»^.u-,- .'!!.».>,.>:i P €■ M F 3 I[ E TEPIDARIUM. THIS shows by far the most finished apartment of the thermae, and some part of its roof was, when found, in tolerable preservation, and had a beautiful effect. On the pavement and in the centre stands the bronze foculare given by M. Nicidius Vaccula, as appears by the cow, though there be no inscription, as there is upon the three seats of the same metal of bronze. The recesses between the atlantes which sustain the upper cornice were probably used for the garments of the bathers. The defect in the angle on the left is occasioned by an awkwardness in the plans of one of the scholar in the natatio, which' interferes with it. The window here is not in the centre, but was probably closed with glass like the others, and with cross bars of brass. The hole for the lamp was so contrived as to give light both to this apartment and to the station which is supposed to have been that of the bath-keeper in the court. The superior decoration of this chamber was probably owing to the greater resort of visitors, it being only heated to a genial temperature. . The door on the right leads to the laconicum. .^..^1, us, iiiic piastei was aiso appiieu a Pompeian Stucco Reliefs in Stabian Baths t,^.- 1 . r f-..i « !,„_ 'A X ft <. a % - Q A. -1^- CEILING OF THE TEPIDARIUM. THE vault of the tepidarium, being the only one of any consequence remaining at Pompeii, may be thought worthy of preservation by means of this plate, for it will probably soon fall, and no memorial of it may remain. InrmiliT air'«G«n Ih^xndJt Brn^rt. ^ IbttMir SivaA C ff O M IP 31 K 2 VAULT OF THE T K P I D A R 1 U M LACONICUM. THE laconicum, or caldarium, corresponding with the stufa of modern Italy, does not equal the gorgeous display of the tepidarium, though the scholae, if that term be applicable to the semi-circular termination, has not been neglected in point of ornament. The alcove has been highly decorated, but, from the total absence of symmetry in the compartments, they seem to have been taken from some other building, and placed here. Neither the circular vent for the vapour, which was here abundant, nor the quadrangular holes in the vault, are regular. The hole for the lamp, which was glazed with a curved glass like that of a watch, admitted light both toward the caldarium and to the portico of the court. The labrum at the farther end would probably have had a more elegant support than the block now existing, had not a flaw in the marble rendered so wide a basement necessary. The figure in front shows the height of the cistern of the hot-bath above the pavememt of the chamber. Over the door of the caldarium were nails by which a curtain was suspended. SrjJjTV-H-y tt«rJ2i,i ^' .:^. SECTION OF THE LACONICUM. THIS section of the laconicum or Calidarium requires but little explana- tion. It gives the base of the warm bath on the right, the labrum on the left, and the hypocaust below the pavement, leaving scarcely anything more to be learned on the subject of the laconicum or calidarium of the ancients. b-.^ — - 1 1 1 ^1 1 a — 1 m — - ]|| tr .a ■M -3 L- i / 1. ..^ I i ^ < ^ Q ta ',1 O 2 o a. .- FRIGIDARIUM and PISCINA in the WOMEN'S BATHS. IN this plate is represented a chamber, with its roof entire, which is sup- posed to be the thermae of the women. The darkness here observable, perhaps, may lead us to suppose that the other apartments were by no means well lighted when the roofs were perfect. A figure is represented as in the piscina, or natatio. to show its existence. The bench on the left, which appears so much out of true perspective, is really so placed on the spot. The wall on the left is exceedingly massive, the reason for which does not seem sufficiently explained, unless it were for the support of the arch on this outer side, which, on the inner, was buttressed by the other arched roofs of the thermae. There was also a reservoir of water above the vault, the weight of which might require additional support. Below, to fill up the plate, are represented the two sides of a ticket of entrance. This was for a show of gladiators. It has been conjectured that the like existed in thermae, but with another device. P © M JP E I I . . FRIC-IDARIUM fr PICINA IN -IHE "Wi.;M.EN'f5 BATUt ) .;< EXTERIOR OF WOMEN'S BATHS. THIS plate represents the highest external portion of the thermae from the north — west angle. On the right the vicus is seen, which terminates at an entry of the Forum. On the left the last edifice is the Temple of Fortune. The door on the extreme left is that of the house of the Tragic Poet. The two pilasters or buttresses on the right, under an arch in the thick wall of the women's baths, have between them the evident traces of a fall of water, which is conjectured to have been the outlet for the superfluity of the reservoir above. This alley seems to have been arched over at this end, and the arch is thought to have served as a communication with other reservoirs of water of which the vestiges are visible. No conjecture has yet reasonably accounted for the appearance of a heavy arch, which springing from the angle appears to have been thrown over the wide street of the Baths on the left. Nor is there a vestige of any pier on the other side to support it. The nearest door was that of the women's baths, before which projected a little apartment or vestibule with a shelf for the laying up of the clean linen for the bathers, and probably the station of the keeper or balneator. A white-washed tablet at this door has an inscription. The entrance, by a passage to the frigidarium, from this street, is by the last door, except one, to the right. There were other baths both of salt and fresh water at Pompeii, and the Canonico lorio gives the inscription of one of them from the Musa^um. THERMAE M. CRASSI. FRVGI AQUA. MARINA. ET BAL AQUA. DVLCI. lANVARIVS. L. "Hot salt and fresh water baths," &c. if t HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET. THE view of the Tragic Poet's house was taken soon after its discovery, at a moment when certain shades of drapery had been placed to protect the painting of Achilles from the effects of the sun. The house had excited so much interest at the time it was discovered, that tue walls were quickly tiled, as here represented, to preserve them from the weather — so that their covering must be considered not only as modern, but as calculated, by its effect, to produce a conviction that the water, from the roof, fell into the tablinum of the house. The remedy for this idea will be found in the following plate. Ittrv' '—' < & •.J W 8 .J^ r* yi fe ,* '. ' lri\ 01 iH D \ ""ik: POET'S HOUSE RESTORED. THIS restoration is calculated to afford an idea of the pleasing effect which even a moderately-sized house is capable of producing. Nothing has been changed from the original drawing, the lines having been traced from it by means of a pane of glass. The roof only has been added, which must have existed, and probably, in a much more complicated and ornamented form than here represented. The pendent ornaments are taken from a picture at Herculaneum. The light, also, has been thrown from the contrary side, which has contributed to the apparent change of the picture, and the sombre shades, contrasted with the partial lights of the impluvium and the peristyle, produce an effect scarcely credible by those who have only seen the habitation exposed to the glare of sunshine. The light is admitted into the nearest division of this atrium, or cavaedium, through a quadrangular hole in the roof, which inclined toward the centre, and seems to have been called comaedium, as the opening itself was styled compluvium, and the reci- pient of the water in the pavement below the impluvium. Nevertheless, these terms seem to have often been confounded, for Plautus mentions the seeing into an impluvium from another house, and Terence also says " per alienas tegulas," and " per impluvium," showing they must have intended to speak of the opening when they use the word impluvium, and consequently the recipient should be termed the compluvium. The compluvion of the cavaedium should be, according to Vitruvius, not larger than a third part of the atrium, nor less than a fourth. This, however, was still less, and the house must therefore have been darker than usual. The tablinum seems, to our eyes, too much exposed for comfort, but it was so called because it could be shut up with shutters. "Quod e tabulis componeretur." There always seems a difficulty between the terms atrium and cavaedium, and between exedra and tablinum, but the tablinum was next to the atrium. "Tablinum proxime atrio locus fuit" (Festus). When it is said that in going from the atrium to the cavaedium it was necessary to pass through the tablinum, such description cannot apply to houses like those of Pompeii, unless the cavaedium and peristyle were the same; but Vitruvius, who is not always clear, must have spoken of houses different from those of Pompeii. Professor Nittey says, however, that those of Rome had the same sort of atrium, for that below the foundations of Adrian's Temple of Venus and Rome were found, in 1828, the remains of an ancient house exactly similar to those of Pompeii, and widi the compluvium distinctly visible. Many persons are inclined to think that the draperies and splendid ceilings with which a restoration of this kind might be decorated, would want the support of ancient authorities; but veils or shades against sun, wind, and rain, were used between columns, and called Cilicia, and the rods for them remain at Herculaneum. Pliny says, " Laquearia quae nunc et in privatis domibus auro teguntur." Festus cites Cato saying, "Villa expolitae maximo opere citro atque ebore atque pavimentis punicis stant." Seneca says the ceilings of csenaenia were versatilia, or changeable, and that a man was poor who had not glazed windows. TertuUian talks of Tyrian curtains and hyacinthe veils, and .so much gold was at one time expended on the ceilings, that an edict to prohibit the use of it was published. o fe WINDOWS OF ATRIUM. MUCH has been said, and much more has been doubted on the subject of the windows of the ancients. It was not probable that houses and especially cubiculi, could have existed without the means of excluding the cold, yet, at the same time admitting light. Even in modern times, however, except in the dwellings of the great, the lighting of a house in Italy or Greece, on a rainy or windy day, is very imperfect, in consequence of the scarcity of glass, or its late introduction as an article of common use. The villa of Arrius Diomedes is said to have had a window the panes of which were divided by lead, just as we find them in old houses in England. The thermae had the same divisions of brass, but these windows of the Tragic Poet of Pompeii are the only examples at present existing of the manner of opening and shutting. The accounts remaining of the scarcity of the abundance of glass among the ancients are very contradictory. Vopiscus accuses Firmus of luxury for having windows of glass in the time of Aurelian. Caligula when giving audience to Philo, a rich Jew of Alexandria, is stated to have attended to nothing but new-glazing his windows, so that the imperial palace must have been glazed long before to have required renewing. In this view two of the iron cramps remain by which wooden frames were fixed to the wall, and in those frames the window, either of glass, linen, or wood moved backwards and forwards. If the slider was merely a shutter, which it appears to have been, it was probably not without a small hole in the centre, square or circular, glazed or covered with linen, or even open to admit a small portion of light. These windows are six feet six inches above the foot pavement, so as not to admit the gaze of passengers. The foot pavement itself is here one foot seven inches higher than the street or vicus, which is paved with polygons, of which a quarry was found by the Hon. W. Strangways, not far from Torre dell' Annunziata. The vicus without the foot-paths, which are each about three feet nine inches wide, measures only seven feet six inches in breadth. These alleys could never have been narrower according to the old Norman law. "Viai lateitoudo endo porrectum octo pedum estod, endo amfractom sedecim." The width of the streets must be eight feet where straight, but sixteen where they turned. The houses on each side of these narrow streets were justly called Vicinales — "Vicinales qui in vico sunt." The windows are only one foot eleven inches wide, and not three in height. Within the chambers, the opening measured only two feet six inches, and there was perhaps some appearance of an internal casement which opened inwards. The red panels are four feet seven inches in height. On these the children have frequently drawn rude figures with a pen or a nail, and have sometimes written sentences not more delicate than the figures, as boys are apt to do in our own times. The word IVCVNDO occurs twice among the names. The windows open into what is called the library and two other cells or cubiculi of the Tragic Poet. The opening on the left is that which leads to the Peristyle of the same house, and the party wall divides the Poet from the house called the Fullonica. THE DEPARTURE OF BRISEIS. THE painting of Achilles and Briseis, of which the outlines are attempted, might, when first discovered, be considered as the finest specimen of the ancient art of painting which had come down to us, and was, probably, the faint resemblance of some celebrated picture by one of the great masters of Greece. It was impossible to describe the atrium of the Poet without dwelling on this beautiful production, so that it needs no further description. The traveler will look in vain for this treasure in the spot it once occupied, as it is removed, after having undergone the inclemency of two or three seasons, to the Museum at Naples. Had the house, which might have been covered in at a small expense, been restored, we might have had a lower floor, at least, nearly as perfect as it existed before the fatal eruption. The subject of a restoration has indeed often been thought of by the directors, and the academicians have even met to consult on the subject. Unfortu- nately, one insists upon it that the atrium was covered, while another declares that no roof whatever existed. The voice of authority, which might decide, is not always either interested in or learned upon the subject; and the House of Pansa, which had been selected, is now in a state of irretriev- able decay. That of the Poet has followed it, and the mansion called that of the Dioscuri, which, for a trifle, might have been restored to its original splendour, is hastening to a state of nakedness and desolation. The candelabra, represented as if behind the picture, is in the Museum. ti«wa by Sir '•'/; G eU. ta^wrti'irrl ACH II 1.1:3 ANT BKI.;ZIS ACHILLES. AN attempt to give a fac-simile of the head of Achilles traced on trans- parent paper upon the original. The head of Briseis. which was also beautiful, had unfortunately suffered from the fall of a beam intended to preserve it. The extreme vivacity, dignity and beauty of the head of Achilles are but faintly expressed in this engraving, and all those faults seem exaggerated which the skill of the artist and the coloring of the original concealed. One of the eyes in particular is larger than the other, and there may be other defects which totally disappear when observed with the entire painting, leaving the impression of the finest youthful head in existence. The picture is four feet two inches high by four feet wide. This may be a proper place for stating that the author cannot presume in attempting to preserve a memorial and record of these paintings to imagine that anything more than a faint idea of them can be furnished to the reader. An artist of the first skill would find it a difficult task to preserve in scanty oudines the traces of the force or expression of the original when there is often no outline at all, it being shaded off till the forms become indistinct. Indeed where it can be done, nothing is so difficult as to trace an outline from the original even on the most transparent paper. At an immense expense only, and on a large scale, could any idea be furnished of the touch and the style of the painters of antiquity. Many are also incorrect as to drawing, yet the additions of shade and colour diminish the defect which in outline becomes glaring. Those however who wish to study the grouping and composidon of the ancients will here find great assistance, and history and poetry may be illustrated upon authority, instead of from fancy. There is no doubt a certain decree of sameness even in the colored originals — a defect which must be more visible in oudine. The Romans only copied themselves and the Greeks, therefore they had not that range over all ages and all situadons which is open to all modern art. The Greeks who only depicted themselves and an occasional Persian or Amazon, were sdll more confined as to models. The shading of a modern picture is generally ardficially contrived by a light let in by a small window, or even a small hole in a shutter purposely closed, and which produces an effect rarely observed in nature. The ancients on the contrary seemed to have preferred the light of day for their works, and one curious advantage is gained by it. The pictures of the ancients produce a pleasing effect when only surrounded by a simple line of red, while the very best of modern paindngs is very much indebted to the carver and gilder for its gorgeous and burnished frame, without which its beauties are so much diminished that it almost ceases to be a decoration to an apartment. F O M F E ): I. FACSIWtLE O !■ THE HEAL .J F iv C li 1 ;. '_ I, s' PELEUS AND THETIS. THIS picture is nearly of the same size as of Achilles. A degree of reluctance may certainly be perceived in the air of the female, and the winged genius seems to be urging her to give her right hand, while she suffers the left only to be taken. Peleus had been formally married to Antigone, the daughter of Eurytion in Pthia, after his flight from ^gina, and it does not seem impossible that the three children below him, might be the offspring of that marriage, and that the female represents Polydora, the mother of Mnestheus who expelled Theseus from Attica. Some have said that Thetis was the daughter of Lycomedes, King of Scyros, and that all her children, excepting Achilles, died young. There is a landscape in the background, but of no particular character. The marine group which is placed above this picture to fill up the Plate is taken from the house now called of Dioscuri, from certain pictures of Castor and Pollux in the entrance, and perhaps presents, for the first time, the union of the lobster with the human form in the person of a sea god. F © M IP S L F. T' S A K TJ THETIS. VENUS. VENUS is represented in this Plate from one of tlie cubiculi in the house of the Tragic Poet. Some have imagined that Cupid was painted as having caught several fish, but that he had in the meantime been caught by the goddess, though that does not seem exactly to have been the intention of the painter. It has even been pretended that the mountain seen in the distance is Vesuvius, but the Vesuvius of Pompeian times must have been a flat and very truncated cone, with a wide depression in the centre, almost filled up at present by a new cone, the origin of which can be traced only to the eruption which destroyed Pompeii. It is surprising how little notice of so near a mountain as Vesuvius is to be found in this city. At Capua two curious inscriptions were discovered which seem to point out the two summits, one being the Monte di Somma of the present day. lOVI lOVI O. M VESVVIO SOMMANO SAC EXSVPERANTISSIMO D. D. By these it seems proved that the mountain was sacred to Jupiter. A third may be added which may have reference to Vesuvius, and is from Herculaneum, accompanying the picture of a snake winding round an altar — GENIVS HVIVS LOCI MONTIS. The goddess is graceful and natural in the original, the position of the left hand is one which was a great favorite with the ancients, and is often repeated. Her mantle is yellow. The fantastic marine animals above and below this picture are taken from panels generally black, and forming the lowest ornaments of many of the apartments at Pompeii. y fQ) sfc :p IS :: E ARIADNE. 1"^HE adventures of Ariadne formed a favorite subject with ancient artists. Here we have her absolutely asleep upon a mattress, and with an azure glory round her head, while Theseus, guided by Minerva, who appears in the air, as an excuse for his perfidy, is actually getting on board his vessel. The goddess, though behind a mountain at some distance, is represented of an awful size, which was either a manner of showing her divinity, or was a defect in the painter's idea of perspective. The picture is not in good preservation, so that several of the objects are by no means clear, nor does either the composition or the execution reflect great credit on the painter. Above the picture of Theseus quitting Ariadne is given in this plate a scene probably representing a Temple, before which persons are going to sacrifice upon an altar. Below is a number of singular figures found upon certain columns in a peristyle near the house called that of the Dioscuri. They much resemble the sigla which are supposed to be the private marks of the scribes who copied the Herculaneum manuscripts. i 1 -4^. "^ Y 9 CI ci) I- K E R V. 11 S A i: O A R I A D N V - IV. POET READING. TT is impossible to see the Poet reading to two personages, who at first I sight appear to be male and female, without remembering the circumstance of Virgil reciting that part of his poem to the Emperor and Octavia which first produced tears, and at the words "Tu Marcellus eris" threw her into a swoon, from which she recovered to present a sum of equal to 2000 of our pounds sterling to the poet whose verse had done so much towards immortalizing the memory of her son. On a closer examination, however, it must be acknowledged that an emperor in the time of Virgil would not probably have appeared so little covered, nor would the Poet, whose skin is of a deep red hue, have been in the same predicament in the presence of the P2mpress. Moreover, the nearer pedant figure is so decidedly of an androgynous nature, while the middle-aged female has all the marks of ordinary humanity, that Augustus and Octavia can scarcely be the persons represented. The dark colour of the Poet seems to have induced many persons to imagine that he must be a slave, but admitting this, we are still in the dark as to the subject of the picture. The locality resembles a modern theatre, with three persons in the pit, and four others in the boxes, one of whom on the right has that sort of blue glory which seems in the paintings of Pompeii to be the attribute of divinity, or at least of heroic personages. The female, it is true, seems agitated, and is pointing as if to command the repetition of some passage. The history certainly mentions that after the words "O nate" Octavia bursts into tears, and there is perhaps nothing but the dress, or rather the absence of it, that should prevent us from considering Virgil as the hero of the piece, or at least that the story may have been similar. If the house really belonged to a Poet, it might have been some triumph of his own which was here portrayed, yet a god with the blue glory and bow, and a Muse, would scarcely have descended in the times of Imperial Rome, their visits to this earth having long been suspended. An elderly figure on the left, and another with a crutch, seem personages of this world, and perhaps when the picture becomes more known, some one will hit upon the explanation. Above the picture is the cock, with the caduceus and other ornaments from the same house. The border, with harpies, is perhaps the only ancient authority for the form of those beings yet found. The ornament below the picture is from one of the older excavations. The strong resemblance between some of the figures in this painting to those in the celebrated picture from Herculaneum taken from the Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides ought to be remarked. There is, perhaps, sufficient reason for thinking they refer to the same subject. tn ts ; \ POKT3 RKADING. MOSAIC. THE ground of this beautiful mosaic picture is black, the dresses are in general white and the personages of a natural colour. Much has been said of the subject in the description of the house where it formed the central compartment in the pavement of the tablinum: it represents the actors dressing for a scenic representation. It has been taken from the floor and is preserved in the Studii at Naples. The mosaic vases, twisted column, and little figures seem to have nothing to do with the scene below, but served merely to fill up the square compartment in the pavement of the tablinum. Above and below the mosaics are placed to fill up the plate, tablets or panels of those curious fish and marine monsters which are so common at Pompeii. K T O M IP 7S. Yi 1. MOSAIC PAVEMK «i SACRIFICE OF IPHIGENIA THIS Plate represents the sacrifice of Iphigenia at AuHs. Chalcas had already taken the fatal knife, and was going to immolate the virgin, when Diana, appeased by the submission of Agamemnon, substituted a hind in the place of the innocent victim. The goddess and the animal are seen in the clouds. In the original, the hard features of Chalcas are well imagined. Many artists have complained that the feet of Iphigenia are not seen, but they might have been concealed by the male figure, and the ancients seem seldom to have represented the limbs which were not absolutely necessary. Timanthes of Sicyon, was highly applauded for having painted a picture of this subject with the countenance of Agamemnon hidden, the expression being beyond the art of painting. He lived in the time of Philip of Macedon, but it appears that Polygnotus of Thasos, who lived in the fifth century before Christ, had also painted the same subject, the meaning of which admits of so little dispute. Iphigenia has a yellow drapery, and the two persons who are holding her, have mantles of a violet colour. Chalcas has a purple dress, and over it, tied round the waist, a yellow drapery. Agamemnon has a long cloak of a dark blue tint, but notwithstanding the frequent use of purple in the picture, the general effect produced by the whole is red, the skin, the hair, and almost everything inclining to that colour. The picture is invaluable, and was in good preser- vation, but either that the subject is not agreeable or from some other motive, it is one of the least pleasing of the paintings at Pompeii. The oven of the fullonica is immediately behind this picture, and it must be presumed that the heat must have penetrated the wall, but the colours do not seem to have suffered. F © M IP H IL I -. . A '■ R 1 F I r E OP I P H 1 l> i; II I A SIDE OF THE CHAMBER OF LEDA. THIS plate is given for the purpose of conveying an idea of the most gaudy and glaring style of Pompeian decorations. The chamber is, notwithstanding this display of coloring, by no means so cheerful as many others of a more sombre aspect. The two openings produce a good effect, and besides two circular canopies supported on wooden pillars, two impluvii are observed. Of the picture of Leda an enlarged Plate follows. %'^r' j^*}. MAj 3F fO; MI F E ;i!iK l.f THE CHAMKEE OFLEtJA LEDA AND TYNDAREUS. THE picture of Leda and Tyndareus was when first discovered, one of the most beautiful specimens of ancient art. The composition, the tone of colouring, and the harmony of all its parts, rendered it perhaps a more agreeable picture than that of Achilles. According to its present appearance, the drapery of Tyndareus is of deep blue, lined with green, that of Leda is rose-coloured, that of the attendant behind her, green, as is that of another person near the pillar, that of the person with the bow is yellow, and of the figures behind him, dark-coloured or perhaps green. The robe of Leda was at one time green lined with blue, and the robe of Tyndareus was black, but even the red changes to black, and the red to yellow, according to its exposure to rain, sun or damp. The three children sitting in their nest, and the mother playing with them as with birds, is a novel conceit, and has a pretty effect. Tyndareus does not regard them with more than a common- place look. The mountains in the distance, end somewhat abruptly behind the square pier in the centre. The plate is filled up above and below with the specimen of the city wall as preserved in a mosaic pavement at Pompeii. That this species of tower, wall, battlements and gate was not very different from some which then existed, may be presumed. Indeed, parts of the walls of Rome are not very dissimilar. The pavement is in the house called that of the Wild Boar or Cinghiale. k TnotadVrFasar S*in LC F © M F E 2 K. LF. DA. AlTD TTNDAR.EUS. •s* ARIADNE. ARIADNE is seen in this plate just awaking after the fatal sleep during which Theseus had deserted her. The ship of her ungrateful paramour is seen in the distance. The subject was much admired by the ancients, and the figure of Ariadne is here in the favorite position of the painter. Her hair is, as usual, auburn, and her robe is rose-colour, very prettily shaded. Xenophon in the Banquet of Socrates, insinuates that Bacchus and Ariadne were favorite subjects for eating rooms. In this house we accordingly find a repetition in the chamber of Leda. Below are two borders offering certain variations, though not very dissimilar in taste. Above is seen the only picture of the whole detail of the roof and compluvium of the ancients which has ever been seen by the Author. It occurs in the house of the Tragic Poet, and though the facts seem to have been perfectly comprehended before, yet it is of consequence as well as exceedingly .satisfactory to be able to cite an authority on the subject. 2^ 'Q) Mt :P JK }C It . FULLONICA, THE fullonica, though a place of considerable size, has, except the cistern for washing and dyeing, little that is worthy of remark. This plate represents a fountain at an angle in the court of this edifice, different from those yet observed, either in the streets or private houses. It is placed between two square piers, and consists in an elegantly shaped tazza, supported by a fluted pedestal, like those commonly used for ancient circular tables, and is of white marble. From the piers, two projections are seen, painted red, and ornamented with plants and birds. These projections serve to conceal certain pipes which spouted water into the basin. The figure upon the pilaster, too small to be clearly represented, in this view, is of Venus. On the other pilaster is a river god. On the other side of one of those piers were two curious pictures representing parts of the process which was carried on in the fullonica. i n Q '.'%: PICTURE IN THE FULLONICA. THE upper portion of this plate represents one of the fullones at work upon his cloth, which he is busily scrubbing with some sort of brush. Below, an elderly person examines a piece of stuff which has been either washed or dyed by a youth, who has brought it for approbation. Behind, or on the right, is seen another man of the establishment, who brings a sort of frame, such as is commonly used in warm baths at the present time, with a pot or pan of hot coals to place under it, on which to spread garments or cloth to be dried. The owl is probably the picture of some favorite bird which really existed in the family. The lower portion of the plate exhibits four persons employed in the fullonica, placed in four niches, and each at work in his tub, washing the linen or cloth, or preparing them for dyeing, if not treading them into the colouring-liquid till they shall be saturated. Three are boys, probably under the superintendence of the person of larger stature. These pictures were thought so curious, that they were carried to the Museum at Naples, not long after these copies were made. It appears that the last operation in the fullonica was that of pressing. Accordingly, upon the wall, near the fountain, is represented a press, consisting of two upright timbers, united by another below, and a fourth above. From the upper horizontal beam two perpendicular screws are made to act upon a thick board, laid upon several pieces of cloth below. The screws are turned by horizontal pins or levers, which are run through them. Even this is ornamented above with three little festoons of drapery. ■V.iv-u Wlt.Moi**. :F 'iT SG IP IS Z E, Pl!-TUEEaN THE FITI.LONICA. THE FOUNTAIN OF SHELLS. ''T^HIS plate exhibits the g-arden, pseudo-garden or painted wall, and part J_ of the inner portico of a dwelling which, on account of the fountain here also represented, caused a greater sensation at Naples than any previous discovery had created. The house was found in the month of June, 1830, and the excavation terminated in October. The arch or alcove of the fountain is on the spot termed the grotto, and that is the name by which at present it may be found. The high wall was, at the time of its excavation, perfect, and this drawing is probably now the only record of its existence, the author having been fortunate enough to copy it before the painting fell. Had it gone no higher than the front row of panels of alternate yellow and blue, the effect would have been very pleasing, but the upper line of pictures, one of which seemed to have represented a boar hunt, destroyed the illusion. In the panels were several birds, painted with great spirit, some of which were killing reptiles, and a curious collection of garden rails of several forms, which are here represented. The fountain itself is a great curiosity, though not quite an object of taste, being nothing more in its form than what is common in the court-yard of any house in Rome. It is, however, incrusted with mosaics of a blue colour and vitreous substance, and the borders are formed of real shells from the sea-shore, which seem almost miraculously to have been preserved in their original freshness. It was found impossible to represent these, or to give all the details of the ornaments which are not unsightly on so small a scale. Two large masks are seen, one on each side of the fountain, and from their being hollow, some have thought that they contained lights at night to produce a striking effect. The water ran down a litde cascade of fine marble steps, and formed a sort of piscina. Upon the pillars, with a hole for the passage of a tube, must have been a tazze, the water from which fell into the piscina. w COMIC SCENE. THE upper portion probably represents a scene in some well known and popular comedy, though there seems nothing so characteristic as to enable us, at this distance of time, to point out exactly to what it alludes. The principal actor in the mask would seem to be what the Italians now call a buffo. This is in the house of the Fountain of Shells. The lower portion may represent a scene, or it might be simply the portrait of a really existing dwarf leading a monkey. The animal is dressed, but there is little worthy of remark, except that it would seem as if the ancients possessed everything as well as ourselves. This picture is in the house of the Dioscuri. A r< !•■ A t: r, i' c >! j: t: y Entfrsvrdi-Pmiiiei V" Vptiwt Srsn * "" ;P-0 X£ JP SK X X GARDEN AND PORTICO. THE inner court, or garden, of the house of the second or little fountain, is here represented, but as it is impossible for a stranger to understand what he sees when on the spot, because the area, which ought to be left open, has now been new-roofed, and the portico, which should have been covered, is left open. By a strange perversity of judgment, the author has taken the liberty of putting a ceiling to the colonnade, by way of explaining its original state. All the rest is precisely as it now remains, even to the marble table which was found on the spot. The figure sitting on the fountain is that of a fisherman, of bronze, found here, and not at the last described fountain of shells, for the accounts of the Custodi differ. It is now in the Museum. A cupid of bronze, carrying a goose in his arms, stood upon the pillar in the centre of the piscina, and spouted water. On the nearest brink of the piscina was a Caryattis, or, rather, a Venus Proserpine, according to the dissertation of Gherard, and near it was a sleeping fisherman, with his baskets and a vase — and these two last were of marble. A mask in the centre of the curve seems, also, to have thrown out water. It is pretended that Agrippa first made fountains at Rome. The bronze fisherman on the left brink of the fountain is now in the Museum at Naples, and the bronze has acquired a very curious and beautiful patina, different from that usually observed. It is probable that he held a cane, by , way of fishing-rod, in his hand. He sits upon a rock, also of bronze. " G fe «. PAINTING OF A POET. THIS represents a picture remaining on the south wall of the garden of the house of the second fountain, which would be better distinguished from the first as the House of the Landscapes. The subject seems to be a sea-port, with a mole, boats, temples, villas and other surroundings. The mole is constructed with arches, a circumstance only lately noticed, and that by a Neapolitan architect, Signor Fazio, as the method by which the ancients, both Greek and Roman, endeavoured to counteract the natural tendency of artificial ports to fill up by a deposit of sand or earth. It appears that along the coast of Italy there was a current towards the south-west, and that there is scarcely any coast without some prevailing stream, carrying with it a proportion of sand, mud or sediment. On ancient medals, arches are often observed as forming the curved moles of Roman ports, and it seems that the Greeks were well aware of the theory of leaving apertures in their marine constructions, as they appear in the mole at Eleusis very evidently, and may be traced in that of Delos, and other islands of the Archipelago. The arches were left for the exit of all the depositions brought in by the current, and it being calculated that only the surface to the depth of a few feet was materially agitated by even the most violent tempests, it was found that by certain flood-gates hanging from the piers, a sufficient calm was produced to insure the safety of vessels within the mole. In this picture the sails of boats are seen above the wall on the right. The mole probably was defensible, and had a sort of parapet and terrace on the top. The buildings are such as must have existed at the time, and we find none of that strange, tall Chinese architecture which abounds on the panels of all the houses of Pompeii, and which in fact could scarcely have existed in reality. The figures are of that strange, undefined nature which gives the appearance of human beings, but which presents no detail, and in general cannot be copied. The horizon is, as usual, very high in the picture, -and the blue of the sea, and that of the sky, are only slightly different. It is by no means improbable that the whole may be a portrait of some place on the coast. A PAINTING. 1"^HIS is that picture which is seen nearest to the spectator on the right side of the fountain in the Plate garden and portico. It is in shape much like the last, but as its angular form above was of no consequence, it is represented flat, in order to bring it within the limits of the Plate. We have here a farm or country house, with its usual accompaniment of domestic animals, and the yoke for the oxen on the left. That species of tree or palm which grows out of the opening of a shed, is peculiar to this picture. The figures are more defined than usual, and seem as if they must have been intended to represent some known event in history or in private life. The return of the shepherd of King Polybus to his wife Periboea, after finding the infant CEdipus suspended to the tree on Mount Cithseron might possibly be intended. ifL^U- PAINTING. THIS picture is on the left side of the fountain, exhibited in Plate garden and portico, and is of the same shape upon the wall as that of the Plate before this. The lofty building near the centre is unlike anything either in shape or style known in Italy or Greece, but it might be perhaps intended for a fire temple of the Persians, and the personages near it may represent the attendants. The man fishing from a rock is a common subject, and is very confused in the original, but, on the left, is a person with as regularly shaped a hat as can be found in our own times, as if even that were not a modern invention. Below are certain sigla which need explanation. /[■sviii-i'niilrib;! P : C T'.I K K .. "V .^ STREET OF THE MERCURIES. A VIEW of the Street of the Mercuries taken a httle above the door of the atrium of the house of the Dioscuri, which is the first on the left hand. The wall is finely colored in large red panels, and on the right of the door, is a fracture in the stucco, which perhaps deprives us of the name of the owner or the use of the building. Near the fountain of Mercury is the lesser door of the hospitium of the house of the little fountain, beyond it the great door of the same house, further on that of the first fountain, and still more distant, the entrance of the fullonica. At the end of the street is the arch which we have called that of Caligula, and the distant arch at the entrance of the forum is seen beyond. The street is more than thirty-two feet wide, with its foot pavement on each side, and must have been the handsomest quarter of Pompeii. Many skeletons were found here, but at the height of twelve feet above the pavement. HOUSE OF CERES. THE atrium or cavsedium of the house of Ceres, discovered in the years 1825 and 1827, is shown in this Engraving. The walls were either originally higher than those of other houses at Pompeii, or they have been better preserved, and the apartment here represented must have had the effect of a hall of two stories. The paintings on the panels consist of a Ceres, with her ears of corn, her poppies and her torch, also a sedent, Bacchus crowned with ivy, with the lynx at his feet, and the cup in his hand. Here are, moreover, a genius carrying a figure of abundance, and two other flying figures with the lyre. The fountain which is here shown in the foreground, was one of the first which was discovered with its ornaments of vitreous mosaic in good preservation. Under it is seen a marble which covered the mouth of a reservoir of water collected from the impluvium. The slab on the top was of African marble and broken. The ornaments consist in a river-god, masks and griffins. The walls when first discovered, were covered with brilliant colours, and much more miofht have been traced with rerard to the details of the orna- ments than is here represented, but the fact is, that by a variety of petty intrigues, strangers are prevented from drawing these objects, till they are either defaced or irrecoverably destroyed, and it is only by the despatch supplied by the camera lucida, that any memorial of them can be obtained. These walls of the atrium being higher than the rest, are already in a tot- tering state, and possibly this plate may soon become the only record of their existence. There was in this house, a painting called Zephyr and Flora, now removed ,to the Museum. It has been much celebrated under many narties, and is given in this work as Plate "Dream of Rhea." The house is one of those which had been examined by its owners, or others, not long after the destruction of the city. PERISTYLE OF THE HOUSE OF THE DIOSCURI. THE view of the peristyle of the house of the Dioscuri, in this plate, is one of the most splendid in Pompeii, and at first sight, without restora- tion, it seems to eclipse all that had yet been found. The walls remain to a height little short of the original elevation of the lower story, as may be seen from the Corinthian capitals of the pilasters at the angles. In the centre of the compluvium was a jet of water, with a brass mouth-piece. The water must by reflection have increased the light and rendered more visible the ornaments and ceiling of the portico. On the right, under the painting of the satyr, is a door through which part of the court of the piscina is seen. Near the centre is the tablinum. The pilasters on each side of it had Corinthian capitals, and these were higher than the Doric portico in front of them. The tablinum contains beautiful pictures, and the wall on one side shows how lofty these rooms were built that they might receive light from the windows above the peristyle. To the right of this is a triclinum. To the left the faux opens into the inner portico which surrounds the garden. The wall on the other side of the garden, with half Doric columns, and painted with trees, fountains, arbours, and birds, is seen through the tablinum. It will be observed that this house might have been repaired, and the temptation was so great that, considering how much was expended in putting up awkward sheds and pan-tiles, it is astonishing how the desire of seeing an ancient house in something like its ancient condition could have been resisted. One of the chests containing the mysterious treasure, which seems to have dis- appeared, stood immediately on the left hand of the faux. COURT OF THE PISCINA. THE central court of the Dioscuri, which may be termed the court of the Piscina. The spectator stands in the exedra, and the opening of that apartment being so large, with the piscina so near as to subtend a large angle, the open sky and the reflection from the water must have rendered it one of the most cheerful rooms at Pompeii. The picture of Perseus and Andromeda on the left, which is most beautiful, and that of Medea on the right, have a good effect. The court altogether is very spacious, and not without an air of grandeur, and the walls are brilliant in colours and decorated with well executed paintings. I " -• S r ' .V JUPITER. THE representation of a picture of Jupiter painted on the wall of the portico. There is an air of ease, yet combined with thought and majesty, about this figure, rarely surpassed, which will render even this record of its existence pleas- ing and interesting to lovers of the arts. It is now quickly disappearing from the wall. % F © ]fe£ p :s 2 .1. PITS R, PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA. A PAINTING of Perseus and Andromeda, which for composition and true Greek style, exceeds almost everything at Pompeii. Perseus has the air of the ideal figures of heroic times, and the head, attitude and executipn of Andromeda are not to be matched in grace. MAI.K AND FKMAI.E BACCHANALIAN DANCKKS. '# 'M. w :s T. 2. A X D A ^: E' R ;■: k : a f HYGEIA. A FIGURE of Hygeia painted on the wall of the house of the Dioscuri. This is one of the divinities necessary for the completion of our pantheons and illustrations of antiquity. FOUNTAIN OF MERCURY. 3P © W. W B, Z I. i; Y a E 1 A. ACHILLES IN SYCROS. REPRESENTS Ulysses and his friend detecting Achilles among the maidens of the court of King Lycomedes, of Sycros, whither he had been sent to evade the search which was likely to be made for him. The story is well known, and the eagerness of the young prince to possess himself of the arms which were placed before him, by which he was recognized, is ably told in this picture, which is in the tablinum of the third portion of the house of the Dio- scuri. The painting though in colours has at present the appearance of having been just executed in shades of red, afterwards touched with transparent tints, through which the red is almost always visible. The wall of the tablinum in the house of the Dioscuri is the wall of all others, the best preserved at Pompeii. It may serve as an epitome of the whole art of decoration in Pompeii, both for variety of colour, the disposition of the compartments, and the assemblage of objects. Architecture, flowers, figures of men and animals, genii, cupids and landscapes, are all to be found in this painting. ACHILLES i ri L \ ¥ VICTORY. A FIGURE of Victory differing so materially from everything of the kind as to be worthy of preservation. It seems not impossible that the genius of Rome may be intended, as the globe in her hand might signify. Had the painter possessed less talent, and more knowledge, this globe might have been rendered interesting by a representation of the ocean and the continents, but a few indistinct touches are all a good painter would condescend to leave us. The trophy in the left hand shows the goddess to be of Roman and not of Grecian invention. There is in the house of the Dioscuri another figure of Victory, with her usual flying drapery, and with S C on her shield. V 7 .J T O R y PENELOPE. THIS has been called Penelope giving wine to Ulysses in the character of a beggar. The dog, who does not, however, seem to recognize his master, has been brought as a proof that such was the subject. The face of the man seems far too young for that of Ulysses, but the painter may have flattered his subject. The Priestess, the Apollo, and the two borders, are from the house of the Dioscuri. ACHILLES BATHED IN THE STYX. REPRESENTS Achilles bathed in the Styx, and has every appearance of having been taken from something of a superior cast. It is always agreeable to possess an ancient painting of subjects recorded in history or poetry. Above are ornaments from the house of the Dioscuri, and below is the border of a pavement. -m "-.*■' k >- t' H , ^. •^1 1-^ ti ^ i%-' SATURN. T'^HIS figure is painted upon a red panel. The figures of Saturn are rare. X The proofs that Saturn is the divinity here represented are generally accepted as conclusive. The borders are from other parts of the house. SEDKNT APOI.LO. «tojrSttWO«lL J^aradlcni&ndlntamttaMnkC F © MI F 3S E E . SATURN COMIC SCENE. THE words comic scene seem to apply to any species of Drama. So many of the ancient comedies and tragedies are lost that conjecture is useless as to the subject of the present scenic representation. The coloring of the woman's face, which is strongly tinged with green, might be intended to represent the effect of horror at some perpetrated crime. The shepherds of Polybus and Jocasta are perhaps the personages intended, but this is a mere conjecture. The Q2dipus Tyrannus of Sophocles might be cited on the subject. u Q Q Af"- COMIC SCENE. I'^HIS scene probably represents the witches of some barbarous nation, as introduced upon the stage. There was a tribe of Scythians named Hippopodes, to which we may conjecture these personages belong. One holds a small mummy in her hand, which might seem to have a reference to the Egyptian colony of Colchos, but Colchos was a part of Sarmatia, which might easily, in a vague account, be confounded with Dionysius Periegetes. The borders are from the house of the Scythia by Dioscuri. H aMH^3KH^a> DrMTi'.^^ilrWCr,!! i'r^f»«-l » lYmtrlVfJnuiiT V-t^rt i ^ C O M 1 C S C K N t; PH.EDRA AND HIPPOLYTUS. PH^DRA, the wife of Theseus, fell in love with Hippolytus, the son of Theseus by Hippolyta, and after a vain attempt to subdue her passion is represented in this picture as declaring it. Hippolytus rejecting her addresses, the nurse or confidant is seen endeavouring to persuade and pacify him. Nothing can exceed the grace of Phaedra or the masterly touches by which the folds of her drapery are expressed in the original painting. IP ® m )i- ]"K E a . }• II y<; U E A A N 11 II I P P O !. Y T U BACCHUS AND A FAWN. T HIS may represent Sylvanus and Cyparissus, or a fawn, in the act ot supplicating^ Bacchus. The attitudes are (graceful. MAI.K AND FKMAI.E BACCHANALIAN DANCKRS. ,^..,~ »?.-«. j-rrv»,.-'«-,tf IF <© ra :^' WALL AND DOOR OF THE CORINTHIAN PERISTYLE. THIS plate exhibits one of the most splendidly decorated walls of the house of the Dioscuri. The curtain is added because there is no trace of a door in the opening between the two courts, and the ceiling of the atrium is restored, since there can be no doubt on the subject, for the better comprehending of the original effect. The pillars in front are even now covered with a paltry roof which has been somewhat improved in this Plate in the style of the period when Pompeii was destroyed. m) 1 I DRINKING SCENE. THIS scene, which is found in exceedingly bad company in an inner room of the lupunare, is, though superior in style to the profanations of the art by which it is surrounded, but moderate in execution. The picture itself is nevertheless valuable, being the only one yet discovered in which a common table, with a party sitting round it, is represented. On the left a figure in a dress of dark green seems of superior rank to the rest of the company, whose hoods are like those of the capotes of the modern Italian sailors and fishermen. It is curious that at so late a period horns seem to have been used instead of drinking-cups, notwithstanding the multiplicity of glasses and cups which abounded in Pompeii, and the inconvenience arising, as may be observed in this Plate, from the want of a foot. Horns were used for cups in very ancient times, as may be learned from several of the Greek scholiasts. Bacchus was called Corniger from this circumstance, according to the scholiast on Nicander. The Sileni were the nurses of the horned Bacchus. Horns, says the scholiast on Homer Iliad {6. v. 189), were used previously to the invention of cups. Nonnus says: "He held in his left hand a horn filled with delicious wine." It would appear that the ancients, during their feasts and ceremonies, the representations of which have come down to our times, studied and practiced what was best suited for show and conducive to elegance, but that their common usages and every-day customs were not very widely different from the moderns in the same country. Nearly opposite this house were found, at an elevation of more than twelve feet above the pavement of the street, eight or ten skeletons, with a gold chain, four gold coins, two gold rings, twenty-six silver medals, a candelabra, and other utensils in brass and earthenware. These persons must have been smothered by the vapour while searching for objects of value among the ruins already half buried. In the border are given ten different specimens of ornamental borders from Pompeii. WAGON AND HORSES. REPRESENTS a paintinjj;^ in a little ante-room or passage of the lupanare. It is but a slovenly daub in the original, but shows that the ancients not only had wagons, but that they were at least as well contrived and as neatly made as any now in use. There is even an opening to permit the wheel to pass in turning, and the whole is well painted, with a blue body and yellow wheels. The enormous skin in which the wine is contained in the body of the wagon is probably new. The dresses of the two attendants are simple and graceful. The drawing was obtained by Dr. Henderson, the elegant author of the dissertation on the wines of the ancients, who obligingly communicated it to the author. There is another of the same subject, and nearly a repetition of thi.s, in the obscene chamber of the lupanare, and they both, in all probability, represented the actual wagon, horses and servants of the proprietor of the house, who seems to have .sold wine contained in leaden vases in the front shop or thermopolion. The borders are all from Herculaneum, and certainly differ from those of Pompeii, without much improving upon them. The two horses' heads are selected by way of affording to those who are curious on such subjects an opportunity of seeing how bridles were put on in Roman times. r-T MARS AND VENUS. ANOTHER but more graceful example of those paintings usually called Mars and Venus. It was among the latest discoveries, and consequently the difficulty of obtaining a copy of it was great, owing to the jealousy with which it was guarded. Fli^nvalt PrtrJ-wiV^j T^tmmr Saara i I MARS AND VEIIU-S DREAM OF RHEA. A PICTURE which probably was taken from the house of Ceres, but was removed before the author saw it. It then went under the name of Mora and Zephyr, and as usually happens when so few are really possessed of good taste, this, which is, in fact, one of the worst compositions of the ancients, has been more admired, and has been the subject of more praise and more dissertations than anything at Pompeii. It represents, according to one, Peleus upon a rock having caught the unwilling Thetis asleep. Her nymphs are near, and Love invites him to seize this favourable opportunity for pressing his suit. According to another, Rhea Sylvia, the priestess of Vesta, is asleep. Near her is a little winged genius of somnolence. Above Morpheus ejects from a horn the sleepy draught. Mars, guided by two Cupids, appears in the air, and the birth of Romulus is the consequence of his visit. The Academy are said to have pronounced the picture to represent Bacchus and Ariadne. It has also been called the Marriage of Morpheus by some, and the (jraces by others. M. Raoul Rochette, in a recently published work on Pompeii, has lastly given a large plate in folio of this composition. The scene he pronounces to be the Lucus Martis, the guardian nymph is Pasithea, the wife of Hypnos. The wings of the male divinity in the air are black, and those on his head are the symbol of dreams. Mars is the descending god. Whatever may be the subject, neither the figures nor the grouping have any merit ; the male is devoid of grace and exceedingly clumsy, while the sleeping figure is absolutely ugly. .< iWrnbrSirW G^l .fFVfri |tnifvt«d^P«Tit«Tri!«rt»C JP (Q. M IP H '• S A k; A-' A STAIRS FOR MOUNTING THE WALL. THIS plate 6f the inside of the walls is taken between the gate of Hercu- laneum and the nearest tower in the wall, not far from the back of the house of the Vestals, which is seen on the left. It is to be observed that the trees are on the other side of the wall, and even beyond a ditch if a ditch ever existed. A grand flight of steps gave an opportunity for a large body of soldiers to ascend together to the parapet in case of sudden attack from without. The blocks in the wall are marked with a number of curious characters or sigla, which, whether Oscan or not, are not understood. At the temple of Apollo Didymsus, near Miletus, the blocks used in the construction of the edifice are, in many cases, marked in a similar manner. They could scarcely be numbers, by way of adjusting the juxta-position of the stones, but might be a sort of anagram recording the name of the person who contributed the block to the general defence. They are of a very remote time, if we may judge from the appearance of the masonry. S; 4 » i>^ GATE OF ISIS. THIS Plate shows the appearance of the inner side of the Gate of Isis, commonly called that of Nola, but which it is more probable opened toward Sarno and Teglanum, for we can scarcely suppose that the sources of the Sarno would not have attracted a population at a very early period. The inscription in Oscan, and purports that Popiriis or Popidius dedicated it to Isis. The mass is fine and imposing, and the gate altogether infinitely more majestic than that of Herculaneum. The soil on the outside does not seem sufficiently deep, unless the paved road descends rapidly, to permit us to hope for so ample a treasure of sepulchres as at the Herculaneum entrance of the town, but much would probably be discovered, as this was certainly an outlet of great consequence. Within the walls, as will be seen in the view, the soil, both vegetable and volcanic, Hes to a great depth. 'n ^ T u .f ^ 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. 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