1. The Art and Architecture of Pompeii and Herculaneum
The House of the Faun
The Art and Architecture of Pompeii and Herculaneum

2. Historical Background
Original foundations go back to the 3rd century BC
Six successive construction phases traced according to different building stones
Dates back to 180 BC – example of architecture of Samnite period
Second large peristyle added 110 BC
At time of eruption probably belonged to Cassius family – suggested by election slogans found in the house and the inscription on a gold ring found on a woman’s skeleton in house

3. Special Features 2950 m2 Occupies a whole insula
Widely admired for size and splendour, beautiful mosaics (Alexander Mosaic) and brightly coloured First Style Wall decorations
Duplication of the atrium (2), triclinium (4), and peristyle (2) features
Public and private sector – architect Vitruvius recommended that men of high social status should have separate and spacious facilities to socialise with guests, while those of lesser standing would not need these as they were more likely to visit others
Interior walls painted in first style (imitation architectural features) which by AD 79 would have seemed conservative
Smaller atrium cannot be accessed directly from the larger one, and this probably indicates that this was more private and reserved for the family

5. Unusual Features
The House of the Faun has some typical Domus features, but also some unusual features:
Smaller atrium is tetrastyle (four columns around impluvium)
Kitchen relatively large, and there are baths (very unusual in private house)
Smaller peristylium is transverse (set at 90 degrees to the house axis) and has 28 columns with Ionic capitals. The columns were made of stuccoed tufa (volcanic stone)
The larger peristyle has 44 Doric columns of stucco-covered brick

6. Ionic Column

7. Doric Column

8. Axial Symmetry
The front entrance has a porch and a vestibule, and leads off the street with shops on either side.
The main part of the house shows axial symmetry with matching rooms on either side of the atrium.
The atrium contains an impluvium and bedrooms arranged symmetrically on either side.
Bedrooms and alae are arranged symmetrically alongside the atrium.
Beyond the atrium is the tablinum, or family living room or study, which opens onto the peristylium.
The tablinum leads through to the peristylium, a courtyard garden surrounded by a colonnade

9. Wall Decoration
Most wall decorations were done in the late 2nd century BC. The decorations would have all been 200 years old at the time of the eruption.
Most decorations are in the First Style of wall painting.
This was an attempt to imitate rich and luxurious marble walls
This type of beautiful wall decorations appear to have been much admired and would often be restored rather than replaced

10. The Peristylium The second peristylium shows the wealth of the owner
The raised area on the back wall may have been used as a small stage
There are engaged half columns on both the west and east walls
The columns are made of brick then faced with stucco. They are fluted
Rain water was collected via a gutter that ran around the garden
There were two peristyles
The smaller of the two was the oldest
It has a shallow rectangular pool with a marble basin for a fountain
It destroys the symmetry of the central axis slightly because of the angle at which it lies

12. Lararium in Entrance way

13. Atrium Tuscanium – Public Area

14. Atrium - Reconstruction

15. Atrium - Reconstruction

16. Tablinum

17. First Peristyle

18. Atrium Tetrastylum

19. Summer Triclinium

20. Second Peristyle

21. Alexander Mosaic taken from Exedra

22. Nile Mosaic taken from floor

23. Other Artwork

24. Other Artwork