A ROMAN WALL PAINTING FRAGMENT

CIRCA SECOND HALF OF THE 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN WALL PAINTING FRAGMENT
CIRCA SECOND HALF OF THE 1ST CENTURY A.D.
On a white ground, preserving a red arched aedicula, with a gold eagle perching atop a volute at the left corner, a floral branch extending out, a partially-preserved gold footed vessel at the center, the interior with a green and blue scalloped dome from which suspends a mask of a maenad on a long pink fillet, with wide eyes and an open mouth, his long golden locks tied in a fillet, a ribboned thyrsus behind, a gold floral band extending to the left
21¼ in. (54 cm.) high

Provenance

Private Collection, Malibu, 1980s.

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Lot Essay

This fragment is characteristic of the Fourth Style of Roman wall painting, which debuts around 60 A.D. and continues through the end of the 1st century. Less homogenous than its predecessors, it eclectically combines elements from Style I-III creating a diverse and dynamic aesthetic. In addition, the embroidery borders are adopted, using a repetitive pattern that appears stenciled onto the background, such as that seen here. As Ling explains (p. 71, Roman Painting), "They serve both as frames at all levels of the wall and as linking elements between panels and aediculae." For a similar example from the House of Neptune at Pompeii with an architectural structure with a hanging element and an embroidery border, see no. 74 in Ling, op. cit.

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