Casa del Mosaico di Nettuno e di Anfitrite
Province
Location
Location Description
An ancient Roman town of Campania destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D.79. Named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Insula
V
House
6/7
Garden
Casa del Mosaico di Nettuno e di Anfitrite
Keywords
- sacellaAAT:300007570
- nymphaea (garden structures)AAT:300006809
- amphorae (storage vessels)AAT:300148696
Garden Description
550.V.6/7 To the very back of this house, excavated in 1932-1936, there was a small courtyard (a) that served as a garden having a summer triclinium and garden paintings on the walls. It was converted into a beautiful nymphaeum and at that time a mosaic panel was created featuring Neptune and Amphitrite positioned on the rear wall where it could be seen immediately upon entering the house. On either side of the mosaic a garden painting on a red background featured the typical lattice fence forming an apse in which a round fountain stands on a pedestal. In the right side panel there is a large tree growing in the center of the background surrounded by oleanders and myrtles with petite white flowers. Many birds are seen flying, perched on the rim of the fountain or walking along the top of the fence. A garland of ivy frames the top of the panel. The panel on the left sustained extensive damage but enough plaster survived to suggest this panel was similar. The garden painting continues on the adjacent south wall for a short length. Two other garden panels were located on the north end of the west wall and on the adjacent north wall. These contained the same lattice fence painted on a blue-green background with a red border. Any further detail had been ruined by the time of excavation. The architectural façade of a detailed nymphaeum was built on the north wall and decorated with shells and mosaics. A small rectangular niche on either side of the central arched niche had a small column of cipolin (marble)which could have held lamps standing on a base of red marble. The central niche had a base which would have likely been for a fountain statuette, although no evidence of piping was found. Above each of the rectangular niches there is a mosaic panel of a deer being chased by a hound with a peacock perched on a robust garland overhead. Above these panels are two tragic masks on the outsides and a comic mask in the center, and a head of Silenus on the wall above all else. The triclinium in the center of the courtyard is very low and had white marble facing on the couches and marble paving between them. A small column decorated with ivy leaves and berries stood between the couches with a channel for a water pipe in the center. This could have held a bowl for a fountain, as Maiuri observed the same was painted on the east wall. A marble slab closed the mouth of a cistern with the neck of an amphora, with a terra-cotta stopper, installed to drain off any excess water.
Plans
Images
Places
Dates
unspecified
Excavation Date
1932-1936
Bibliography
- Jashemski, Gardens, 1:67-68 and fig. 109 on p. 68
- Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, p. 371
- Maiuri, Herculaneum,pp. 45-46
- Maiuri, Ercolano, pp. 397-401 and fig. 330 (plan) on p. 394
- Michel, pp. 402-403;Neuerburg, p. 136, no. 41
- Sear, pp. 95-96.