The story of a family, of a public figure, of individuals torn from life. Their habits, their whim and their desire to show off their wealth, through luxury in furnishings and everyday objects. Thus, through the exhibition Gli Arredi della Casa di Giuio Polibio, set up from 23 December on the upper floor of the Antiquarium of Pompeii, with the numerous finds discovered in the house, we enter into what must have been the life of a rich Pompeian family, that of Giulio Polibio.
Over 70 objects, including lamps, lamp holders, incense burners, pottery for cooking food (boiling pots, frying pans, pots for boiling flatbreads and vegetables), banquet cups and glass bottles, food warmers, candelabra, a bronze signet ring with the name of C.IVLI PHILIPPI, perhaps the real owner of the house, the perfect cast of a wicker basket, a terracotta piggy bank, dice and more.
But also the attempt to give an appearance to the inhabitants of the house, told through the reconstructed faces of 3 of the victims found. The face of a girl under 20, in the last months of pregnancy at the time of the eruption, that of an adult man between 25 and 35 years old and that of an elderly man, around 60 years old.
A facial reconstruction, made starting from the skulls of the three unfortunates, pioneering for the time in which it was made (70s). The reconstruction consisted of applying layers of plasticine of a thickness corresponding to that of standard musculature on the 1.1 scale model of the skull. Further investigations were subsequently carried out on the DNA of the individuals, leading to the establishment of some kinship links.
Physical anthropologists Maciej and Renata Henneberg identified 13 individuals: 3 adult males, 3 adult females, 6 subadults, and a fetus in the last months of intrauterine life.
The large house of Julius Polybius, with its severe façade on Via dell'Abbondanza, was built between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, with a unique plan compared to that of most of the houses in Pompeii. The house is linked to the name of Julius Polybius, a descendant of a freedman of the Gens Iulia, the family of the emperor Augustus, who appears in the electoral inscriptions painted on the façade of the house, which recommend him as duoviro of the city.
The beautiful paintings in the First Style, the river pebble floor, the cocciopesto impluvium of the atrium and the “collection” of ancient bronzes found in the triclinium were deliberately displayed, almost as if they were part of a political programme with which Polybius aimed to enter the old Pompeian ruling class.
The atrium is followed by a closed room with a painted door that masks a pre-existing door from an earlier phase of the house. Near the door is a pile of lime, evidence of the restoration work in progress at the time of the eruption in 79 AD. A peristyle, planted with fruit trees and shrubs, served as a connecting element between this part of the house and the main reception rooms, such as the large triclinium with frescoes of the Torment of Dirce. The homeowner's desire to display his wealth and refinement to his guests can be seen in several objects discovered, which must have amazed visitors: a bronze statue of Apollo, a krater with mythological depictions, and a large Greek bronze jug dating to the 5th century BC, an antique.
The facade of the house was excavated by Vittorio Spinazzola between 1912 and 1913; the entire house was investigated between 1964 and 1970 with a multidisciplinary approach.
EDITORIAL TEAM
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