ARCH 1130
An Archive of Casa della Caccia Antica
Tanya Qu
Vestibule
Atrium and Impluvium
Cubiculum
Cubiculum
Room overlooking Atrium
Corridor to kitchen
Kitchen
Latrine
Room overlooking Atrium
Corridor
Tablinum
Room overlooking Atrium
Ala
Room overlooking Peristyle
Room East of Peristyle
Exedra east of peristyle
Latrine
Area of stairs to upper floor?
Corridor leading to entrance VII.4.43
This floor plan is from ©Jackie and Bob Dunn, www.pompeiiinpictures.com
Su concessione del MiC - Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Intro
Located in Regio VII-4, 48 in Ancient Pomepii
Rooms: 20; Area: 440m^2
This property, known as the House of the Ancient Hunt, is renowned for its intricate mosaics and paintings, specifically those related to hunting scenes.
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The mission of this project is to study the artworks in this property related to hunting, provide personal recreations, and create a more accessible way to view the property. On the left is a floor plan of the house. The contents of this website refer to the room numbering on the left. By hovering over the plan, you can see a description of each room.
1. Tablinum
1a
Room 11
Looking onto the East Wall
2a
3a
** to learn more the paintings, hover your mouse over each of the following pictures!
1a. East Wall // Lower Left Painting
**The original painting is badly chipped, so this drawing is what I picture may have been in the original. It shows a human hunter figure and two beasts.
2a. East Wall // Lower Right Painting
Notes
- Description: a man/figure image pointing a spear at a beast in a cave
- The human figure is shown to have a a clear dominance over the beast
- Overall it feels as though the man overcomes the beast
- These themes of human empowerment over the wild/beast/etc. conveys a strong message to visitors to the house because of how central the tablinum is
3a. South–East Corner Wall // Lower Painting
Notes
- Description: a multi-faceted hunting scene with man and hunting dog– most likely canine breed (Barrientos, 2020) – and beast x beast
- Relationship between man and dog is clearly positive– dog helping man hunt
- Relationship between beast and beast is notable. The beast with the horns on the right is commonly placed as a hunted animal. It may likely be a boar or a cow/bison related animal
- Once again the human figure is indirectly more dominant than the beasts though all come off as powerful and fierce
Notes:
- Description: a man/figure image pointing a spear at a beast in a cave
- The figure is shown to have a a clear dominance over the beast that is also portrayed as fierce
- Overall it feels as though the man overcomes the beast
Room 11 (Tablinum)
Looking onto the West Wall
2b
1b
3b
1b. South-West Corner Wall // Lower Left Painting
**The middle beast is relatively hard to recognize, but I think it's the same one we see in figure 1a
**The original painting is badly chipped, so this drawing is what I picture may have been in the original. It shows a human hunter figure and two beasts.
**The original painting is badly chipped, so this drawing is what I picture may have been in the original. It shows a human hunter figure and two beasts.
Notes
- Description: what looks like two hound dogs attacking a beast
- No humanesque figure seen in this photo, but the hounds could represent the overcoming of the beast
- The animal in the middle is the same one talked about in 3a and possibly 1a
2b. West Wall // Lower Left Painting
Notes
- Description: a human figure, 2 deer, and a beast (possibly a tiger/lion/big cat?)
- There's no active hunt scene in this painting
- The deer don't seem to be interested in the human and the figure looks also as if it's herding the deer away from the beast --> deer seen as more passive and graceful, and therefore "good", symbols in ancient Rome
- The beast is clearly the antagonist, it has recognizable muscles and is going towards the others
- This is one of the first scenes in this room that do not show human life overcoming fearsome beasts
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3b. West Wall // Lower Right Painting
Notes
- Description: A human figure wielding some form of a knife (?) directing an animal towards two deer
- There's been depictions of hunters with dogs though this animal is a little unclear. The animal is depicted to help hunt the deer. It's not uncommon to use dogs such as Laconian hounds or Cane Corso in hunting deer (Barrientos, 2020)
- In figure 3a, the deer and the human don't seem to be bothered by each other, but in this figure, the figure is clearly overpowering the deer
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Peristyle
The painting on the South wall of the peristyle is the famous hunt scene that gives the house its name. Sadly, the only current photos of the remains are of torn down walls and little painting scene left
OKKKK so i love this one
- From top to bottom, left to right: Beast (tiger?) hunting beast; three deer- two running from the human figure wielding spear; hunter successfully killing a beast with multiple spears; beast in the middle; hunter wielding spear; cow/bull being attacked by some type of beast (the spots point to a cheetah?) on its body; lion chasing the cow; hunter and dog killing a wild boar
oh this isn't roman art but it is my friend's roommate
see the composition in this is so intricate.