VI.14.39 Pompeii. Casa Lucrum Gaudium or Officina di tornitore
Room plan
1878 plan of house by Mau. See Bullettino dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica (DAIR), 1878, (p.86).
This plan is to help you accurately locate the rooms shown in the photographs of these houses.
The plan and the room descriptions are based on those used in the BdI 1878.
Please be aware that the room numbers shown may differ from any other plans or records both published and unpublished.
Key:
Room “a” - cubiculum on the left of the entrance.
It had white walls with crude paintings of fishes and birds. The floor was a type of rough opus Signinum.
It may have had a wooden threshold.
Room “b” - room on the right of the entrance.
The floor of the room was opus Signinum with stars of black and white stones.
At the foot of the door shutter, stones of lava were embedded in the flooring for holding the door hinges.
A quarter of the floor area was occupied by a structure of six steps that led to the upper floor rooms.
These rooms would have been above the fauces and its two adjacent cubicula.
Under the stairs was a recess.
Originally the room was decorated in the 2nd Style before the stairs were built.
This was clearly shown by the leftover painted remains under the stairs, which clearly showed decoration divided into rectangles on a white background.
After the changes, the room received a decoration in the 3rd Style.
It was a simple decoration and not much was found preserved.
On the back wall a bird (0.20 high) could be distinguished with its tail pointing upwards. (p.92)
Room “c” - atrium with impluvium.
The entrance doorway had a lava threshold.
Room “d” - tablinum.
It’s floor had an ornament of white stones in the form of the threshold, and others around the three internal sides.
In the left wall, Mau could see a doorway that had been bricked up by the ancients.
The rear entrance doorway had a lava threshold.
Room “e” - cubiculum.
At the foot of the door shutter, stones of lava were embedded in the flooring for holding the door hinges.
Room “f” - room behind the tablinum.
Its rear door, leading to the garden area, had a threshold bricked and higher than usual (0.23).
According to Mau, this was a spacious room, possibly the triclinium, decorated in the 3rd Style.
It had a red dado with white lines and above this was a simple decoration on a white background.
In the middle of the compartments were painted flying figures, but not preserved well.
More or less conserved were the last two on the extreme south of the west (entrance) wall, the 3 on the right (south) wall, and the 4 on the rear (east) wall.
The ones on the north wall were lost, as were the two on the right and left of the entrance.
See Mau, in BdI, 1878, (p.93-94)
Mau described them, beginning with the rear (east) wall, from left to right, as –
1. (to the left of the doorway) – Large bird
Large bird with wings spread (0.27 high, 0.36 wide) carrying an object, which was not recognisable.
The object rose above its head and was attached to a ribbon, the other end of which was attached to the feet of the bird.
Below number 1, immediately above the dado, was a small painting of a deer or goat running to the left (mostly vanished).
2. (to the right of the doorway) – (0.18 high) – Cupid
Cupid flying towards the left with robe fluttering leaving free the front part of the body, with right arm raised above head to hold an undefinable object.
Below number 2, immediately above the dado, was a small painting of a wild boar looking right, towards a dog held by a lead from an unrecognisable figure (mostly vanished).
3. (east wall) – (very faded, 0.26 high) – Floating female figure
Floating figure of woman with robe flying behind her, carrying a long stick (thyrsus), flying towards right.
4. (east wall) – (0.26 high) – Floating female figure
Floating figure of woman similarly dressed, with robe arching above her head, flying towards left.
She is holding a plate with flowers in her right hand, and a thyrsus in her left.
Below number 4, immediately above the dado, was a small painting of a deer being chased by a dog towards the left.
5. (south wall, 0.18 high) – Cupid
Cupid with garment flying behind, ornamented with bracelets and rings on the feet, flying towards the right.
Cupid is holding a brown round object, similar to an apple, with ribbons attached at either end.
Below number 5, immediately above the dado, was a small painting of a deer approaching to the right towards another deer lying-down.
6. (south wall, 0.26 high) – Floating female figure
Floating figure of a woman totally covered in a blue robe, flying towards the right, with a lyre in her right arm.
Below number 6, immediately above the dado, was a small painting of a cupid, flying right, with a long spear attacking a lion who was also facing to the right, but turned his head towards the cupid.
According to Mau, it seemed that the blood flowed from the wound in the lion’s side, but it could have been that the spots, coloured red-brown, were plant representations.
7. (south wall, 0.25 high) – Floating female figure
Floating figure of a woman with a transparent blue robe and shoes of the same colour, flying towards the left, carrying on her head a basket of flowers.
Mau described this as similar to the paintings of some of the dancers of the so-called Villa of Cicero.
8. (west wall, 0.17 high) – Cupid
Cupid flying towards the right, nothing remained other than the legs, the left hand, a small part of the crowned hair and part of the fluttering robe.
On the feet were rings and his left hand was holding the lower part of a quiver, while the right hand seemed to have held the ribbon attached to the top of it.
Below number 8, immediately above the dado, was a small painting of a bear moving to the right, who was hurling himself against a boar.
9. (west wall, 0.27 high) – Floating female figure
Floating figure of a crowned woman with a fluttering blue dress, flying towards the left.
She is holding a thyrsus in her left hand, while the right hand pulled a veil up and over the shoulder.
Room “g” – garden area.
Room “h” – loggia or terrace at rear of garden on a higher level, with four steps up to it.
According to Jashemski, this terrace was 0.95 higher than the garden,
On the north side of these steps, were another set of stairs leading down to the basement rooms below.
According to Mau, these two sets of steps were the only ones at the rear of the house, there was no other place for any.
There were therefore no other upper floor rooms at the rear, other than the exedra on the same level as this terrace.
Room “i” – exedra on a higher level.
The doorway had a lava threshold, on the north wall was found the remains of a painting of Cyparissus, with cupid and a deer.
Below the exedra was an area, possibly used as a wine cellar, as many amphorae and fragments of clay vessels were found here.
Room “k” – kitchen in basement level.
On the left were the remains of a masonry structure with a raised front edge, which seemed to have served as a hearth.
In the north-east corner Mau could see traces of fire on the wall, and on the east wall was a painted lararium.
Room “l” – another room on the south side of the kitchen.
When excavated the wall between the rooms “k” and “L” had fallen.