Plate III - Side of a cubiculum
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This side of a small room, in the house which was excavated in the presence of the Emperor of Austria, and which, from an inscription, has been called the House of Fuscus, or of the Emperor Joseph the Second, is one of the most elegant, and the lightest in its effect, which has been found at Pompeii. The house might derive additional interest from a defaced inscription in large red characters upon the pilaster on the right of the great entrance, where the letters
yet faintly perceptible on the blocks of stone,
might favour the idea that it might have been the
property of one of the Tullian family. |
The lightness and elegance of the painting in this chamber render it exceedingly eligible for modern decorations. In the centre was a picture, said to have been rather of an indelicate nature, which was removed to the museum. It may have been that called Sophonisba and Massinissa by Visconti. The room is extremely small, and seems to have been lighted by a small window above the door in the usual manner.