X.—HOUSE AND FURNITURE.
(Wall-Cases 25-40.)

Cases 25-40 contain furniture, lamps and lamp-stands, cooking utensils, objects used in connection with the bath, and objects illustrating the methods of heating buildings and supplying them with water. With the house itself, its plan and its appearance we are not concerned in this work. It is enough to say that the fundamental distinction between the ancient and modern house is that the one looked inwards, the other looks outwards. The ancient house received its light and air either from the open courtyard, round which it was built, or else from a large aperture in the roof. The former was the prevailing arrangement in Greece, the latter (in the earlier period) that adopted in Italy. The outside of the average Greek house was probably very destitute of architectural ornament, presenting a wide space of blank wall broken but by few windows.

The Roman house in its final development assumed a form closely resembling that of the Greek house just described. At an early period it was based on the early Italian house. This consisted merely of an oblong chamber, with a small opening in the roof for the admission of light and emission of smoke. This chamber was called an atrium, perhaps because walls and roof were black (ater) with soot from the smoke of the fire. Gradually the opening in the roof became larger. Rain fell in the centre into a basin called the impluvium. The atrium lost its character as a living room, and further courts and rooms in the Greek manner were added to it.

We may now deal with the internal arrangements and the furniture. The objects may be described as they concern (1) the general furniture of the house; (2) the lighting; (3) the kitchen; (4) the bath; (5) water supply; (6) the warming. (7) Annexed is a small type-series of vases.

The Furniture of the house.—In the nature of things, wooden furniture rarely occurs outside Egypt, except in South Russia. Thus we have a wooden table leg: a dog springs upward, from an acanthus leaf, surmounting an animal's leg (No. 300). This comes from Kertch in the Crimea. In general, the remains of furniture shown in this section are the metal accessories and fittings. These are for the most part of Roman date, but Roman furniture was so largely derived from the Greek, that they may be regarded as illustrating Greek furniture as well.

Some remarkable examples of bolster-ends in bronze, bronze inlaid with silver, and ivory, are shown in Cases 27, 28. They usually terminate above in a head of a mule, or of a duck, and below in a medallion bust.

Fig. 113.—Bronze Couch (Restored).

The seat (No. 301) is incorrectly put together. It is composed of the parts of one or two couches which should be restored as in fig. 113.

Below is a small bronze stool (No. 302), without arms or back, of a type not uncommon at Pompeii. Two tripods with expanding legs are placed in the bottom of Cases 27-28. One of these (No. 303) has an arrangement similar to that of the candelabrum No. 307, whereby it could be heightened at will. These tripods were used as small tables. Of a much older period is the fragment (No. 304) from the leg of a large bronze tripod, from Palaekastro in Crete.

Lighting.—In Cases 25, and 28, 29 are placed several candelabra used either for the support of wicks floating in an oil-bath or for lamps, or torches. Those stands which have come down to us are chiefly of bronze, but the cheaper ones in ancient times were made of wood. Martial, in an epigram, warns the possessor of such a wooden candelabrum to take care that the whole stand does not turn into one blazing candle.41 A primitive example of lamp and candelabrum shaft combined is shown in No. 305, (fig. 114), from Cameiros (about seventh century B.C.). A female figure, of columnar form, supports a lamp with three nozzles. The Etruscan candelabra and many of the candelabra found at Herculaneum and Pompeii consist of a base in the form of three legs or paws, very commonly those of lions, a tall stem, and a circular support or spreading arms for the lamps at the top. The stem may be fluted, or may be knotted like a stem of a plant, or divided like a reed. In Roman times another variety is also common, composed of a massive base with three or more spreading arms, from which lamps were suspended. Such a stand (No. 306) is seen on the upper shelf of Cases 29-30. A point which may be specially noted in regard to some of the bronze stands of the Roman period is the decoration of the shaft, which often takes the form of a climbing animal. That shown in fig. 115 (No. 306*) has a panther, a cock, and a bearded serpent on the shaft. An ingenious expanding Roman bronze lampstand (No. 307) from the Hamilton Collection should be noticed in the lower part of Case 29. The central rod attached to the circular lamp-support can be raised at will, and secured in place by means of a bronze pin passed through one of the pairs of holes pierced in the side rods.

Fig. 114.—Archaic Lampstand and Lamp in Terracotta (No. 305). Ca. 1:7.

Fig. 115.—Roman Bronze Lampstand. (No. 306*). 1:4.

Fig. 116.—Bronze Lamp from Enkomi (No. 308).

The lamps themselves (in Cases 31 and 32) are of terracotta, bronze and marble. The greater number are of the Roman period. One of the earliest is a primitive lamp (No. 308; fig. 116) of the prehistoric period known as Mycenaean, and was found in the course of the Museum excavations at Enkomi in Cyprus. It was thrust, by its spike, into the masonry joints of a built tomb, and must have had a wick floating in the oil, or supported at the spout. The essential parts of a lamp in the developed form are (1) the well for the oil, formed by the body of the lamp and fed from an opening above; in the bronze lamps this opening is covered by means of a lid, sometimes hinged, sometimes secured by a chain, as in No. 309, fig. 117; (2) the nozzle for the insertion of the wick. The nozzle generally takes the form of a projecting spout, but the arrangement varies very considerably in different lamps, and a single lamp is often furnished with several nozzles. The lamps might either be simply placed on a candelabrum or else suspended from it. Several of the bronze lamps have chains for the latter purpose (No. 309; fig. 117). A peculiar bronze hook, of which there are several examples in these cases, was sometimes used in the Roman period for hanging up the lamps; in the example illustrated (No. 310; fig. 118) it is seen hinged to the lamp in such a way that the lamp could be suspended, supported from the ground, or carried in any way desired.

Fig. 117—Roman Bronze Hanging-Lamp (No. 309). Ca. 1:4.

Fig. 118.—Roman Bronze Lamp with Hook for Suspension (No. 310). Ca. 1:3.

The numerous Graeco-Roman bronze lamps in these cases show a great variety of form. Heads of Seilenos, Pan, negroes, etc., appear side by side with a fir-cone, a foot, a duck, a snail, or a wolf. The handles often terminate in an animal's head, e.g., that of a horse, a dog, a lion, or a swan (cf. fig. 117). A fine example, with a tragic mask on the handle (No. 311; fig. 119) was found at Rome in 1912. But the choicest example of a bronze lamp will be found in the Bronze Room (Case B). It is a double lamp for suspension, and was found in the Roman Baths at Paris. A silver lamp with Heracles strangling the serpents, on a boat-shaped cradle (No. 312), is shown in Case 29. The cheaper terracotta lamps are freely decorated with designs taken from daily life or mythology. Numerous specimens of these lamps will be seen in Table-Case B in the Fourth Vase Room. A very elaborate example (No. 313) in the form of a ship is seen here in the bottom of Case 30. The twenty-three holes for wicks and filling should be noted. The lamp fillers, as may be seen from the bronze specimen exhibited, closely resembled the lamps themselves (No. 314).

Fig. 119.—Roman Bronze Lamp. Tragic Mask (No. 311).

Candlesticks are rare. In the Etruscan candelabra (Nos. 315, 316; Bronze Room Cases 57-60) projecting spikes seem to be intended for piercing candles, as shown by a tomb painting at Orvieto (fig. 120; see Bronze Room, Case 60). Two candlesticks of modern type (which rarely occurs) are shown in Case 30 (No. 317; fig. 121).

Fig. 120.—Etruscan Candle Holder, from a tomb fresco.

Fig. 121.—Bronze Candlestick from Syria (No. 317).

Besides lamps and candles, lanterns were also largely in use, especially for outdoor purposes. Such a portable Roman lantern (in Case 32) is here illustrated (No. 318; fig. 122). It is cylindrical in shape and has a hemispherical cover, which could be raised from the body of the lantern. The latter was enclosed with plates of some transparent material such as horn, bladder, or linen. That talc was also used is shown by the fact that several of the lanterns in the Museum at Naples have their walls made of this material. Just below the lantern is a small bronze statuette, which has formed the body of a knife (No. 319). A grotesque figure is walking with a lantern in his right hand, and a basket slung over his shoulders. It was found at Behnesa, in Egypt, and probably represents a bird-catcher returning in the evening with his spoils. The lantern carried by him very closely resembles the one described above.

Cheaper forms of perforated clay lanterns are also exhibited (No. 320; fig. 123).

Fig. 122.—Bronze Lantern (No. 318). 1:4.

Fig. 123.—Earthenware Lantern (No. 320).

The Kitchen.—Cases 33-36 contain cooking implements and remains of ancient fruit and grain. The vessels give a good idea of the furniture of a Pompeian kitchen, although there is no example of the more elaborate contrivances for preparing hot drinks and keeping food warm, such as have been found at Pompeii, and may be seen in the Museum at Naples.

The kitchen implements arranged in these cases do not differ materially from those in modern use, except that they are made of bronze, and frequently have some graceful and appropriate ornamentation. One or two of the objects call for special remark. On the second shelf from the bottom of Case 34 is an implement with a long handle and a rectangular pan furnished with six circular depressions (No. 321). A circular pan with twenty-eight such depressions was found at Pompeii, and is now at Naples. These pans were probably used either for baking cakes or frying eggs.

In Case 36, on the same shelf as the pan for baking cakes, is a bronze frying-pan (No. 322), with a spout at one corner. Instead of butter, fat, or dripping, the Romans, like the inhabitants of southern countries at the present day, were accustomed to use oil in frying. The shelf above the pans is occupied with ladles, dippers, and other implements. The handles of the ladles usually terminate in a beautifully modelled head of an animal, such as that of a duck, swan, or dog. One wine dipper (No. 323) is hinged so as to fold for the pocket. On the next shelf above are two painted plates of about the beginning of the third century B.C. They belong to a well marked class (cf. Fourth Vase Room, Cases 26-7) of plates of Campanian fabric, distinguished by the fish and other marine creatures painted upon them. It is probable that they were intended for the serving of fish. Of the two examples shown in this case one (No. 324) is decorated with a sea-perch, a sargus (a fish peculiar to the Mediterranean), and a torpedo, the other (No. 325; fig. 124) with a red mullet, a bass, a sargus, and a cuttlefish.

Fig. 124.—Fish-Plate (No. 325). Diam. 8¾ in.

The strainers (No. 326), with perforated designs, on the right of Case 36, were used for clearing wine and other liquids. In Cases 36, 37 are bronze moulds for shaping food in the form of shells.

Some remains of ancient walnuts, grain, and fragments of calcined bread from Pompeii, and a black cup from Rhodes, containing eggs, are shown in the middle shelf of Case 35.

The process of bread-making is illustrated by the terracottas shown in this case. One (No. 327) from Kameiros in Rhodes represents a woman kneading dough on a board placed in a circular trough resting on three legs. Another (No. 328), of much rougher workmanship, shows a bearded man engaged in a like occupation. A third (No. 329) shows a woman kneading in front of the oven. A small terracotta model of an oven shows two cakes baking (No. 330).

In antiquity knives and forks were little used at table, fingers being mainly employed. Only one three-pronged fork (No. 331) is here shown. Spoons, however, were common, and a considerable number of ancient spoons (No. 332) are exhibited in Case 36. The series of large ivory spoons with elaborately ornamented handles belong to an early period, a similar one coming from the Polledrara tomb at Vulci in Etruria, of the seventh century B.C. The small spoons in bronze or ivory, with round head and handle running to a point, were probably used for the eating of eggs and the extraction of snails from their shells. Snails were a favourite dish with the Romans, and the spoon got its name (cochleare) from being employed in this way.42

In the lower part of Case 36 are examples of pestles and mortars (No. 333). The pestle usually takes the form of a bent thumb, or of a leg and foot.

In early times cooking was done either in the courtyard of the house or in the principal living-room. Pompeian houses are, however, generally provided with separate kitchens, small rooms opening off the court of the peristyle. The hearth is a simple rectangular structure of masonry, sometimes furnished with projecting supports for holding vessels over the fire. Much, however, of the warming and working was done over small braziers, such as are shown on a small scale, and by a model, in the lower part of Case 36. The terracotta braziers are of characteristic form, with three internal projecting knobs to support the cooking vessel. These are generally ornamented with masks of Hephaestos, Satyrs, or the like (No. 334). Compare examples in the Terracotta Room (Cat. of Terracottas, p. xix., C 863 ff). See also in Case 36 a terracotta food warmer, from Olbia, in the form of a shrine (No. 335).

Fig. 125.—Athlete using Strigil.

Fig. 126.—Bronze Strigils and Oil-Flask (No. 337). Ca. 2:7.

The Bath.—Certain implements shown in Case 37 illustrate the routine of the bath, which occupied a large place in the life both of the Greeks and Romans. Celsus, who wrote on the art of medicine probably early in the first century after Christ, recommended the bather first to go into the moderately heated room (tepidarium), and perspire slightly, then to anoint himself and to pass into the hot air room. After perspiring there he was to pour hot, warm, and cold water alternately over his head, then to scrape himself with the strigil, and finally to anoint himself—the last probably a precaution against taking cold. This description will enable us to understand the use of the implements carried by bathers. Of these the strigil is most important. It was a curved piece of metal, usually bronze, but sometimes iron, employed by athletes for removing dust and oil after exercise, and by bathers for scraping away sweat and dirt. The accompanying figure (fig. 125), drawn from a Greek vase of the fifth century B.C., shows an athlete resting after exercise, and about to use the strigil. Some times a strigil, oil-flask, and sponge are seen on vases, suspended from the wall of the palaestra where youths are exercising. In Case 37 a small lekythos (No. 336) shows an athlete with a strigil, and an impression from a gem illustrates the method of using that implement. The strigils here seen range in date from about the sixth century B.C. to the third century A.D. Many of them are inscribed with the name of their owners, and some have small figures, e.g., a man dancing or a horse galloping, stamped upon them. Two strigils which deserve special mention are the silver one found in the sarcophagus of the Etruscan lady, Seianti Hanunia (second century B.C.), and exhibited with that sarcophagus in the Terracotta Room, and the beautiful bronze ornamental strigil in the Bronze Room (Pedestal 3), with the handle in the form of a girl herself using the strigil. A complete bather's outfit of Roman date (No. 337), found near Düsseldorf, includes two bronze strigils and an oil-flask attached by rings to a handle (fig. 126), and several glass vases for use in the toilet.

Fig. 127.—Section of Roman Bronze Pump from Bolsena (No. 338). 1:5.

Water Supply.—A few objects in Cases 38-39 illustrate the methods of water-supply among the Romans, which are characterised by their completeness and excellence. The remains of two Roman double-action pumps in bronze from Bolsena in Etruria (Nos. 338, 339; figs. 127, 128) are of special interest. These are constructed on a principle invented by Ktesibios of Alexandria, who probably lived in the third century B.C. They were worked by alternating plungers, raised and lowered by a rocking-beam. The first illustration (fig. 127) shows the less advanced but more complete pump in section, and explains the method, of working. The bottoms of the cylinders (A) were connected by pipes with the reservoir, and are furnished with flap-valves (B), opening upwards. When the plunger (C) was raised, a vacuum was created, and the water lifted the valve and rushed in. When the plunger was raised to its highest point the valve fell again and retained the water; when the plunger descended it forced the water from the cylinder into the central discharge pipe through another flap-valve (D) at the end of the horizontal pipe. BD in the figure shows the structure of the flap-valves, which the Greeks called ἀσσάρια ("pennies") from their likeness to coins. F is a complete plunger of the same type as those used in the pump illustrated, but not belonging to it. Only two-thirds of the second pump (No. 339) survive, but the missing part (marked off in the diagram by a dotted line) is supplied in the section (fig. 128). In this example the more advanced spindle valve takes the place of the flap valves, and the two valves side by side open into a central domed chamber, in place of the simple central cylinder of No. 338.

Fig. 128.—Section of second Roman Bronze Pump, from Bolsena (No. 339).

There are here several jets and spouts for the emission of water, one (No. 339) in the form of a pine-cone, pierced with small holes for sending out a spray, others in the form of dolphins (No. 340) and the fore-part of a horse (No. 341). The bronze stop-cocks seen in Case 39 were used for controlling the flow of water from the cisterns to the various parts of the house. They were inserted in the lead water-pipes, portions of which still adhere to them. Their arrangement is excellently illustrated by those discovered at the Roman villa at Boscoreale, near Pompeii (see Mon. Ant. vii., p. 454, fig. 45a). See also a gargoyle in the form of a lion for rain water (No. 342), and a bronze grating from the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos (No. 343) for draining it away. Various lead supply pipes and clay drain pipes are shown in case 39.

Heating.—In early times houses were heated by means of a large open hearth placed in the middle of the principal room, whence the smoke escaped as it might, through the door, or between the roof beams. Next followed the use of portable braziers in bronze, such as have been found in Etruscan tombs from the seventh century B.C. (cf. Italic Room, Cases B, C). The small braziers used for cooking, etc., in the Hellenistic period have been mentioned above, p. 118. A system of heating by hot air was introduced by the Romans, but was used chiefly for the warming of baths. For the general heating of houses such an arrangement was, until about the third century A.D. exceptional, and Seneca, writing in the first century A.D. regards it as an enervating luxury. Several examples of Roman terracotta flue-tiles (No. 344) for the transmission of hot air are seen in the bottom of Cases 39, 40.

Shapes of Vases.—Case 40 contains a small type-series of the leading shapes of Greek vases, intended to teach the names current in archaeology (No. 345).

(300) Cf. Ant. du Bosph. Cimm., pl. 81, where a restoration of a table with a leg of this kind is shown; (301) The couch in fig. 113 is after the restoration of a couch from Boscoreale, given in Arch. Anzeiger, 1900, p. 178; (304) Cf. Furtwaengler, Olympia, IV., (Die Bronzen), pls. 28, 34; (305) Cat. of Lamps, 137; (308) ibid., 1; (309) ibid., 66; (310) ibid., 97; (312) Journal of Hellenic Studies, XXVIII., pl. 33; (313) Cat. of Lamps, 390; (314) ibid., 1437; (318) Cat. of Lamps, 1435; (320) ibid., 1511; (323) Excavations in Cyprus, fig. 148, No. 4; (324, 325) Cat. of Vases, IV., F 259 and F 267; (338-339) Cat. of Bronzes, 2573-4; (343) Newton, Hist. Disc., II., p. 143.

On the Greek house generally, see Daremberg and Saglio s.v. Domus and B. C. Rider, The Greek House. On the Roman house, see Daremberg and Saglio, loc. cit., and Mau-Kelsey, Pompeii.

41:  Martial, xiv. 44:

Esse vides lignum; serves nisi lumina, fiet

De candelabro magna lucerna tibi.

42:  Cf. Martial, xiv. 121:

Sum cochleis habilis, sed nec minus utilis ovis:

Numquid scis potius cur cochleare vocer?