FRESCOED CEILING, BEFORE 79 CE. HERCULANEUM, HOUSE OF THE BLACK SALON, CUBICULUM There aren't many buildings in any ancient city around Vesuvius that have surviving ceilings, though in both Pompeii and Herculaneum there were many buildings with upper levels. However, in some houses in Herculaneum enough of the decoration survived for the ceilings to be able to be reconstructed. In the gigantic domus (VI.13) called the House of the Black Salon, not only the large eponymous tablinum but the little cubiculum 17 has a rebuilt ceiling. Both are suspended ceilings, with surprisingly complex forms, some shallow barrel vaults interrupted by flat recesses and flanked by further flat sections. This house, like the more famous House of the Vettii in Pompeii, probably belonged to a freedman, in this case L. Venidius Ennychus, whose name was recovered from some wooden-framed wax tablets. He was considered eligible to be one of the Augustales, which confirms both his wealth and his freedman status. The frescoes here are predominantly red frames and garlands on a white background, and are Second Style, resembling fresco work in the Domus Aurea and hence possibly dating to the late 60s CE.
A rarity for #FrescoFriday: a ceiling in #fresco reconstructed in situ in #Herculaneum, with a complex form. Through the back window of this #cubiculum we can see a little outdoor #lararium, stripped of its decoration. Here we finally get a sense of the whole room. #AncientBluesky 🏺
