VII.9.33 Pompeii. Caupona of Donatus and Verpus or House of the King of Prussia.

Linked to VII.9.34. Excavated 1822. (Vico d’Eumachia 19).

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Entrance doorway, looking towards south and west walls. On the left is a doorway, linking to VII.9.34.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Doorway to dormitory in south wall.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Looking towards west wall.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. May 2003. Looking towards west wall. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. Looking west from entrance.

Photographed 1970-79 by Günther Einhorn, picture courtesy of his son Ralf Einhorn.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. South-west corner with remains of wall decorations.

Photographed 1970-79 by Günther Einhorn, picture courtesy of his son Ralf Einhorn.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Cistern mouth and marble edging.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Cistern mouth.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Remains of large landscape painting on west wall, with the lararium painting below.

According to Jashemski, this site, excavated in 1822-23, was badly damaged by the earthquake or at an earlier period.

It had 3 rooms on the right (north).

On the left a door to the adjacent shop, and behind this, a dormitory, a latrine, a stairway leading to the upper floor, and a kitchen. 

Fiorelli believed the site was used as a caupona. 

The area between the rooms on the right and on the left is difficult to explain. 

The rear wall opposite the wide entrance was decorated with a landscape with a lararium painting in the lower right.

The shrine was framed by a twining vine shoot on which various birds were perched. 

The excavators expected the structure underneath the aedicula to be an altar, but it was found to be a fountain filled with lapilli and other volcanic debris. 

The mosaic pavement around the fountain pictured a variety of dolphins and geese. 

The mosaic, however, had been damaged by later construction.

It would appear that the area in which the fountain stood was once a garden. It may have lasted, in part, as a garden – in part, as a courtyard.

She pointed out that Boyce called the area of the Lararium “a kitchen”.

See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.189).

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Lararium painting of Mars and Venus standing side by side.

According to Boyce, on the west wall of the kitchen, near the hearth and above a masonry basin, was a lararium painting.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.68, no.303 and Pl.25,2).

Lararium painting of Mars and Venus with a blazing altar in front of each of them.

See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.189).

VII.9.33 Pompeii. Lararium painting on west wall.

Photographed 1970-79 by Günther Einhorn, picture courtesy of his son Ralf Einhorn.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. 1959.

Lararium painting on west wall and masonry basin below. 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.

J59f0402

VII.9.33 Pompeii. West wall, lararium painting and masonry basin below.

Photographed 1970-79 by Günther Einhorn, picture courtesy of his son Ralf Einhorn.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. Pre-1937-39.

Lararium painting of Mars and Venus standing side by side, from west wall.

Photo courtesy of American Academy in Rome, Photographic Archive. Warsher collection no. 565.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. 1931. Lararium painting of Mars and Venus standing side by side, from west wall.

DAIR 31.2470. Photo © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom, Arkiv.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.68, no.303 and Pl.25,2).

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Remains of masonry basin or fountain under the lararium painting.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. June 2005. Looking south from basin under the lararium painting. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

VII.9.33 Pompeii (?). Sketch by William Gell described as “Kitchen of Lollius”.

The sketches under Mars and Venus match those at the feet of the paintings of Mars and Venus shown in the 1930s photos above.

See Gell, W. Pompeii unpublished [Dessins de l'édition de 1832 donnant le résultat des fouilles post 1819 (?)] vol II, pl. 89v.

Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Identifiant numérique Num MS180 (2).

See book in INHA Use Etalab Licence Ouverte

According to Pagano and Prisciandaro –

15th February 1823. (PAH II,65).

“In questa spirante settimana si era continuato lo sterramento nel solito luogo a lei piu volte accennato con miei passati rapporti, e si era altresi scoperto interamente il pavimento di mosaico rinvenuto nel piano del locale pressola parete, dove esiste la dipintura di Venere e Marte.

Questo pavimento era assai grazioso, avendo il fondo bianco, nel di cui spazio son formate delle oche e delfini in differenti azioni: con una bordura intorno, composta si strisce nere, che racchiudono un semplice ornato. La sua misura era irregolare, poiche viene interrotta da porzioni di fabbriche costruite in epoca posteriore, e puoi considerarsi in due dimensioni, una di pal. 7 1/3 per 5 2/3 a l’altra di pal. 4 ½ per 3 2/3. Io intanto l’ho fatto di nuovo coprire, come si pratica con gli altri che rinvenuti si sono per tutti questi scavi, durante la rigida stagione; ed ho fatto costruire eziandio la tettoia, per riserbare dalle piggela parete dipintacol suddetto quadro di Venere e Marte.”

(trans:

“In this week, the digging had continued in the usual place mentioned several times in my past reports, and the mosaic floor found in the floor of the room near the wall, where there is the painting of Venus and Mars had also been entirely discovered.

This floor was very pretty, having a white background, in the space of which are seen ducks/geese and dolphins in different actions: with a border around, composed of black stripes, which enclosed a simple decoration. Its size was irregular, as it is interrupted by portions of brick built in the past era, and can be considered in two dimensions, one of 1.93m x 1.49m, and the other of 1.19m x 0.97m. In the meantime, I have covered it again, as is practiced with the others found for all these excavations, during the rigid season; and I had a canopy built, to preserve the painted wall with the aforementioned painting of Venus and Mars from the rain.")

5th April 1823 (PAH II, 70, PAH III, 35)

In un pilastro d’ingresso a un’abitazione che resta nella piccola stradetta dalla parte opposta dell’edificio detto il panteon, e proprio in seguito dell’abitazione ove si vede il quadretto osceno munito da chiusura, si legge –

C(aium) Lollium Fuscum AED(ilem)   CIL IV 795.

(trans:

“On an entrance pilaster to a house that was in the small street on the opposite side of the building called the Pantheon, and situated just after the house where you could see the obscene picture with closure, a recommendation was read -

C(aium) Lollium Fuscum AED(ilem)   CIL IV 795.

See Pagano, M. and Prisciandaro, R., 2006. Studio sulle provenienze degli oggetti rinvenuti negli scavi borbonici del regno di Napoli. Naples: Nicola Longobardi. (p.125-6).

(Note: The graffito, top left of the sketch above, appears to say TREBIVM.AED.OVF, with CUMNARI.ROG below.

According to Fiorelli, painted on the wall to the left, at the exit of the “Augusteum” (VII.9.42) was –

TREBIVM AED OVF

CLIBANARI ROG.  (CIL IV 677)

See Pappalardo, U., 2001. La Descrizione di Pompei per Giuseppe Fiorelli (1875). Napoli: Massa Editore. (p.106).

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. Kitchen area.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005.

Looking west, from site of steps to upper floor at VII.9.32. At rear is a room on the north side of the atrium of VII.9.33.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. December 2005. First room on north side.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. July 2008.

Downpipes in north-east corner of first room on right. Photo courtesy of Barry Hobson.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. July 2017. Erotic wall painting of man and woman with the words “Lente Impelle”.

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number 27690.

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.

VII.9.33 Pompeii. Wall painting of man and woman with the words “Lente Impelle”.

According to L. Eschebach this was found in “first room on right”.

See Eschebach, L., 1993. Gebäudeverzeichnis und Stadtplan der antiken Stadt Pompeji. Köln: Böhlau. (p.315).

The painting was discovered on 11th October 1822.

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number: 27690.

See Pagano, M. and Prisciandaro, R., 2006. Studio sulle provenienze degli oggetti rinvenuti negli scavi borbonici del regno di Napoli. Naples: Nicola Longobardi. (p.125).