VIII.2.34 Pompeii. Casa delle
Colombe a mosaico or House of the Mosaic Doves.
Excavated 1767, 1885 and 1928.
Lower levels.
Part 2 Part 1
Entrance level VIII.2.34 Plan
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2011.
Looking west across terrace towards room ‘11’, centre left, and vaulted room ‘6’, near ramp or steps of passageway ‘7’ from lower rear rooms.
Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006.
Looking north-west towards vaulted room ‘6’, near ramp or steps of passageway ‘7’ from lower rear rooms.
Looking north across terrace and room ‘11’ towards north wall of room ‘6’, and north wall of ramp or steps of passageway ‘7’.
Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2011. Room ‘6’, detail of north wall. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ‘11’, west wall of room on lower level.
Originally this room would have had an elegant flooring of mosaic with a net of lozenges delineated in black on a white background.
There was a narrow strip with a double row of black corolla with four petals and buds combined in a manner to form circles, typically III style.
See Blake,
M., (1930). The pavements of the Roman Buildings of the Republic and Early
Empire. Rome, MAAR, 8, (p.108, & Pl.46, tav.7).
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. c.1930. Room ‘11’, narrow band of black and white
mosaic found in a lower room.
See Blake,
M., (1930). The pavements of the Roman Buildings of the Republic and Early
Empire. Rome, MAAR, 8, (p.108, & Pl.46, tav.7).
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. c.1930. Room ‘11’ on lower floor, described by
Pernice and PPM as a cubiculum.
According to Blake - originally this room would have had an elegant flooring of mosaic with a net of lozenges delineated in black on a white background.
There was a narrow strip with a double row of black corolla with four petals and buds combined in a manner to form circles, typically III style.
DAIR 41.692. Photo © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom,
Arkiv.
See Pernice, E. 1938. Pavimente
und Figürliche Mosaiken: Die Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji, Band VI.
Berlin: de
Gruyter, (taf. 32.3)
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ‘8’, looking north across middle triclinium on lower level.
The walls of this large room, which made up the central residential space of this lower floor, showed a painted black zoccolo, purple panels with blue borders.
Mau defined the decoration as of a candelabra on a peacock-blue/purple background.
The room was covered with a vaulted ceiling and also two narrow areas to the side, the passageway ‘7’ (on the left) and the narrow area (on the right) perhaps a store-cupboard. In the rear wall of the store-cupboard was a window opening into the corridor ‘5’.
The cocciopesto floor had polychrome ‘crustae’, and a threshold of well-executed white meander tesserae, which separated this from its anteroom.
Room ‘8’, looking north across middle triclinium on lower level towards detail of north wall. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Room ‘10’, looking north towards vaulted triclinium on lower level with detail of north wall. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006.
Room ‘8’ on left, small room ‘9’ between, and room ‘10’ a vaulted triclinium on east side of lower level, on right.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ’10’, north-east corner of triclinium on east side of lower level.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ‘10’, north wall of triclinium on east side of lower level.
Originally the flooring would have been a black mosaic with rows of crosses of small tesserae with a white border, similar to the atrium ‘c’.
Nothing of this can be seen now, and the only remains of painted wall plaster can be seen on the north wall, protected by the vaulted ceiling.
The zoccolo was black, and like the middle zone was crossed in panels with candelabra; red on the upper part, a red band protruding crowned at the top with a stucco cornice.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Small room ‘9’, or store-cupboard, on west side of east triclinium on lower level.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south-west across terrace ‘12’.
According to Jashemski, Sogliano said the terrace on the lower level was probably enclosed by a low masonry wall.
This wall would have contained a space for plants (a view not accepted by Mau), but only the part on the east was preserved.
It was covered with plaster and decorated with a Nile scene which was badly damaged.
A crocodile pursued by a pigmy armed with a shield and lance, and also a pigmy woman with a basket, near to which stood a hippopotamus, could be seen.
See Sogliano, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1885, p.257
See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p. 209)
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south across terrace ‘12’.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. South-east corner of terrace ‘12’.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. East side of terrace ‘12’.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. East side of terrace ‘12’, looking east along rear of other terraces.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking north up corridor ‘u’ on west side of house, leading up to street level.
Exterior rear photos
VIII.2.34
Pompeii, in centre. June 2019. Looking
north towards terrace above arches. Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2005. Looking north from rear towards terrace area.
According to Mau, the terrace was supported towards the south by a wall of arches composed of stone cut into the shape of masonry, under which the natural lava rock could be seen.
Around the edge of the terrace was a low parapet wall, covered with white plaster, and formed as small arches.
See Mau, in Bullettino dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza
Archeologica (DAIR), 1886, (p.156).
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. June 2019.
Looking north from rear towards terrace with low parapet
wall, which originally would have been covered with white plaster and formed as
small arches. Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii, on left. 1959. Looking east along rear to VIII.2.39. 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.
J59f0410
VIII.2, Pompeii. 1959. Looking west along the rear from near VIII.2.34. 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.
J59f0412
Part 1 Entrance level VIII.2.34 Plan