tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61851340712479395582024-03-05T13:20:04.295+00:00Tales from the AshesValeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-37532453444088965422013-01-31T14:05:00.003+00:002013-02-02T18:58:04.143+00:00The Villa of Crossed Destinies<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; text-align: start;">Gladiator Fight during a Meal at Pompeii</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: start;">, 1880, Francesco Netti</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: start;">from <a href="http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/pompeii/decadence.html">Getty Museum website</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="s1">We used the space syntax analysis software to investigate accessibility and visibility of space. We also tested from which points of the villa it was easy to see the mosaic and what areas of the villa were visible standing on the mosaic. But I’ll publish some screen shots and notes on that in another post.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I stared at the plan and went through my photographic documentation, trying to image that House, in the past. The little beautiful mosaic on the threshold of the fine room. Why? Why the mosaic was there and not in any other place of the villa? What was its purpose? The truth is that we don’t know.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">But is that really a problem for the audience?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Many professionals in museum and site management seem to believe that visitors couldn’t cope with uncertainty. Maybe they feel it would undermine the authority of the museum or cultural institution. I don’t think so.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Let me use an example to make this point clearer. In her popular book about Pompeii, Mary Beard complains about a famous Pompeian “fact” that I have actually found in more than one touristic guide. The anecdote is that the body of a very wealthy woman, wearing fine cloths and expensive jewellery was found in the Gladiators barracks, close to the body of a handsome fighter. It is easy to join the dots and put together a steamy story about luxurious ladies visiting their secret lovers: fearless men who faced death everyday but, apparently, were also very keen on enjoying life. The catastrophe of the Vesusius caught them in the middle of a passionate meeting. To me, it sounds like something between a Hollywood peplum and a Barbara Cartland novel. However, the story per se is quite effective and often makes the tourists smile.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Unfortunately, the story in not true. Or, at least, not complete. None of the books citing (or just repeating) the story says that, in the same barracks, other 18 bodies have been found. This information changes the scenario completely. Assuming that they were not a club of voyeurs, it is more likely that, during the scary and confusing events of that day, people of different social status sought shelter in the same place. We could even add that she was wearing so many jewels not to impress her lover but because, as many other inhabitants of Pompeii, she was trying to flee carrying on her body at least her most valuable goods.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">But this is just another hypothesis. Perhaps more grounded than the other one. What is certain is that we don’t know.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Castle of Crossed Destiny,<br />
Cover of the first edition</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">I believe that the possibility to imagine one (or more) hypothetical story, starting from the historical and archaeological information available, can be seen as an interesting task and not a limitation by the audience. As a visitor, I wouldn’t like to listen to a ready made story that is presented as “a fact” while not only it is just an interpretation but is also based on a (non declared) selection of the available information.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">According to many scholars in Museums Studies and Public Archaeology (such as Witcomb, Parry and Copeland), the best way to engage the audience is to involve them in the production of meaning. Of course members of the public are not archaeologists or classicists. But if they knew what was found in an ancient place, let’s say a house or a cubiculum in the barracks, they could apply what Merriman calls ‘informed imagination’. They can’t develop scientific interpretation. But, for sure, they can imagine stories starting from the pieces of information they have received.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">That’s what I wanted to do with the dog mosaic.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">When I was trying to explain my idea to my supervisor, I told him something like: “Imagine each bit of information we have about the House of Orpheus is a card. You have multiple combinations available, you have multiple potential stories.” While I was speaking, I visualised the pages of a book by one of my favourite Italian writers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Calvino">Italo Calvino</a>. The book is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_of_Crossed_Destinies">The castle of Crossed Destinies</a> and it’s part a collection of short stories, part a mind blowing essay on semiotics. A group of travellers are gathered together but, for a mysterious reason, they cannot talk. The only means they have to communicate (and entertain each other) is using a deck of Tarots to build their stories visually. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">One of the interesting aspects is that each card is used more than one time and with different connotations.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Let’s go back to the House of Orpheus.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">If we consider, for example: </span></div>
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<span class="s1">the small mosaic with the dog, </span></div>
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<span class="s1">the fact that the dog does not look like a guard dog but more like a pet, </span></div>
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<span class="s1">the fact that room 9 is exquisitely decorated, </span></div>
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<span class="s1">the fact that Vesonius Primus had his garden decorated with a large fresco with Orpheus and the animals, </span></div>
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<span class="s1">the fact that he received an herm from his workers as a sign of gratitude </span></div>
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<span class="s1">we could say that Vesonius was a gentle hearted person who treated his workers and slaves fairly. He also loved poetry and nature (like Orpheus), especially animals. So much so, that he was very fond of his dog and dedicated an entire room of his house to it. When he left the House to save his life, a major cause prevented him from freeing the dog, who met a sad end. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Castle of Crossed Destinies</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">Or we start from the fact that Vesonius received a herm from his workers and change completely its connotation, connecting it differently to the other bits of information we have.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">We could think that Vesonius was a mean and tyrannic master. Not only he made almost impossible for his slaves to buy their freedom but also obliged them to spend a lot of money in a “spontaneous” gift of gratitude. The dedication of the herm should be read, in this case, as slightly ironic in spite of its respectful words. Perhaps Vesonius loved his dog more than his human workers (it wouldn’t be that strange for an ancient Roman) and the dog was indeed very much hated in the house as he received better care, food and shelter than many people there.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Maybe when Vesonius left the house he put one of his slave in charge of protecting it from thieves but the slave, understood the situation, escaped leaving the dog at guard of the house. With not a lot of regrets.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Combinations are almost endless. There isn’t one that is more correct than another. Probably none of them would be “what actually happened”. But that is not the point. I believe that trying to build a story is an effective way to invite the public to gather as much information as they can, to put things in context, to empathise with the people that used to live in ancient cities, to understand better what studying the past means.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">By the way, we started feeling sorry for the poor dog that dies at the end of each of these stories. So we gave him a name: is called Morty :-)</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-81257525103873912092013-01-28T14:06:00.002+00:002013-01-28T14:06:16.510+00:00The House of the Two Dogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Plaster Cast of a Dog (from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii)</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Antiquarium of Boscoreale</span></div>
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From the British Museum <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/%20pompeii_and_herculaneum/highlight_objects.aspx#4">website</a></div>
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My main question, at this stage, became: what was the purpose of a small, elegant mosaic representing a dog (a pet? a hunting one?) on the threshold of a fine room in a quite big and wealthy Pompeian villa?<br />
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<span class="s1">I started wandering around the department of Digital Humanities, asking people to help me making hypotheses, even the less likely. I really needed external stimuli. I received very good inputs so far, and I am confident I will receive more. But I will discuss them in another post. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Here, I want to write about the informative value of relationships. What I am trying to do with this project is showing that you cannot really understand an object unless you put it in its context and consider the relationships with the other elements that interacted with it (animate and inanimate).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I was reading Della Corte’s records when a sentence caught my attention. Describing the House of Orpheus he says that in the Villa there were two dogs: a real one and a portrayed one. </span><br />
<span class="s1">The latter is our mosaic, the former is the poor dog whose remains have been found during the excavation. The dog was chained so it couldn’t escape the tragedy. It is unlikely that it could have survived in any case, but, being chained, it met a very dreadful end. The plaster cast of its remains is one of the most iconic images of Pompeii, expressing the despair and anguish that all living creatures must have experienced in that fatal day.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I knew that the plaster cast of the dog was from the House of Orpheus and it was one of the criteria in the choice of my case study. However, della Corte’s words built an immediate and effective relationship between the two entities. </span>I got very interested in the link between the living dog and the artistic one. Did the mosaic mark an area dedicated to the real dog or usually inhabited by it? How my hypotheses on the mosaic dog changed if I imagined a real dog interacting with it? Could room 9 have been a dog’s room?</div>
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<span class="s1">I became even more convinced that visualising the relationship between the artefact and the building is extremely useful but sometimes is not enough, especially when you are trying to “decipher” an object. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">Herm of Vesonius Primus. From </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Presuhn E., </span><span class="s1">1878. </span><span class="s1"><i>Pompeji: </i></span><i>Die Neuesten </i></div>
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<i>Ausgrabungen </i><i>von 1874 bis 1878</i>. </div>
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<span class="s1">Available at <a href="http://archive.org/stream/pompejidieneuest00pres#page/n99/mode/2up">archive.org</a></span></div>
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<span class="s1">What do we know about that villa and its inhabitants? </span>The answer to this basic question proved to be very interesting as I realised that we actually have several pieces of information about the House of Orpheus. I divided them into three categories:</div>
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<span class="s1">1) information still on site</span></div>
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<span class="s1">A huge amount of information is, obviously, held by the the building itself. Through the analysis of the remains, and hypotheses developed in virtual environment, we can derive information (and possible interpretation) about shape, light, water features, visibility, accessibility, movement trough space, status of the owner, etc...</span></div>
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<span class="s1">But we also have specific artefacts survived such as</span></div>
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<span class="s1">the well preserved fresco in room 13</span></div>
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<span class="s1">the massive fresco of Orpheus in the garden</span></div>
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<span class="s1">the mosaic floor in room 13</span></div>
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<span class="s1">2) information held or exhibited in museums</span></div>
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<span class="s1">All the artefacts that have been found in the House of Orpheus and moved to a museum, such as</span></div>
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<span class="s1">the plaster cast of the dog</span></div>
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<span class="s1">the mosaic of the guard dog</span></div>
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<span class="s1">the herm of Vesonius Primus and its dedication</span></div>
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<span class="s1">3) information survived through documentation</span></div>
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<span class="s1">graffiti and inscriptions (recorded by della Corte and Preshun)</span></div>
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<span class="s1">mosaic floor of the atrium (recorded by Preshun)</span></div>
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<span class="s1">fresco of room 10 (recorded by Preshun)</span></div>
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<span class="s1">detail of fresco of room 15 (recorded by Preshun)</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I believe that putting all these elements together would enhance the informative value of my 3D model. Furthermore, if the audience could see the relationship between bits of information that are often delivered discontinuously, I believe they would be much more engaged with the understanding of them. In my opinion, it would also help in perceiving again the Pompeian houses as places that used to belong to humans. And animals...</span></div>
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Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-6751447826746577382013-01-25T15:39:00.002+00:002013-01-26T12:49:28.557+00:00All about my dog<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus<br />
Mosaic of a Guard Dog (?)</td></tr>
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I have tried to look at the mosaic with fresh eyes and to gather as much information as possible about it. What are its characteristics? What makes it similar or different from other Pompeian (or Roman) mosaics depicting dogs?<br />
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<span class="s1">A little warning before we continue: here follows my thoughts about the mosaic and my attempts to imagine its use and context. Although I want to be as accurate as possible, my hypotheses are currently mainly based on direct observation and educated guessing. They definitely need further investigation. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Let's go back to the dog...</span></div>
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<span class="s1">We know for sure that this artefact was not meant to be visible from the street. Nonetheless, it seems to be a communicative object, meant to be seen and to “speak” to his viewers. But what the little black dog was supposed to “say”? If we want to be realistic, the only question I could possibly answer is “what this dog mosaic says to me”.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">They say an image worths 10.000 words. I believe it depends from the image and from the words. However, it is indubitably true that images are a synthetic language, able to condensate a lot of information. I’ve tried to unwrap it, focusing on different details. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I have started with the image per se, detached from the material object that I’m going to examine later. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGIZGljpWG_4L1zWViEae4yri7Q-0AVW2MwdQdxGG6lRxNX5uYMYTxUI4BG5QFKf8SGzVK0FiHVaA6YOzjPMOJ1rt7BRv5HTsPzpukR0yPrXoxLvyhOQo2S55nIJX9XJQtnL5unJn2yitW/s1600/chain1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGIZGljpWG_4L1zWViEae4yri7Q-0AVW2MwdQdxGG6lRxNX5uYMYTxUI4BG5QFKf8SGzVK0FiHVaA6YOzjPMOJ1rt7BRv5HTsPzpukR0yPrXoxLvyhOQo2S55nIJX9XJQtnL5unJn2yitW/s1600/chain1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chain holding the guard dog at<br />
the House of P. Proculus, Pompeii</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b>
<b style="text-align: center;">Icon</b></div>
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<span class="s1"><u>Shape and Dimension</u>: I realised that I tend to call the dog in this mosaic “the little dog”. This is not connected with the actual dimension of the support. I wouldn’t called a st. bernard ‘a little dog’, even if it was a miniature. What gave me the impression that it is a small dog? I am not an expert of canine breeds, especially in the antiquity, but if I look at the Pompeian <i>cave canem</i> mosaic, I would say that the dog looks quite like a big, solid guard dog of the mastiff kind. The one at the Proculus House looks more like a big doberman or a Great Dane. The cute one at the entrance of Caecilius Iucundus House, on the contrary, looks like a greyhound. The dog in the mosaic from the House of Orpheus is less easy to identify. It has pointed ears, pointed muzzle and long tail. I would say it is a middle size dog, maybe an hunting one. Generally speaking, I have the feeling it is less realistic and more ideal-typical than his companions in Pompeii.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><u>Position and Movement</u>: what is the dog doing? Again, Orpheus’ dog is less easy to assess than the other ones. I would say that the position of the body (all the weight on the fore legs, its bottom up, the tail erected) suggests that the dog is either barking or even greetings its owner. The other two mosaics of guard dogs seems to confirm that very scary and dangerous animals do not bark but wait silently and stare at you. </span>I started wondering if this mosaic actually depicts a guard dog after all or if the first archaeologist might have named the artefact slightly inappropriately.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNrt-ZWnvqCuvtH4MvJ7i1Zk7S5PHK1Gx_TaVrb02XLVsJvNKUuOdX4XHeYsalwkKisWg7v1pdguHlmtmCbNEE8xg32-rPIJblM2_R1r9GQl7qE8euded5ChRS2LZHstdocsossSKPzFJ/s1600/leash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNrt-ZWnvqCuvtH4MvJ7i1Zk7S5PHK1Gx_TaVrb02XLVsJvNKUuOdX4XHeYsalwkKisWg7v1pdguHlmtmCbNEE8xg32-rPIJblM2_R1r9GQl7qE8euded5ChRS2LZHstdocsossSKPzFJ/s200/leash.jpg" width="47" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red leash<br />
worn by <br />
Orpheus'dog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Accessories</u>: the mosaics in the house of the Tragic Poet and the House of Proculus are sort of advertisements. They have to convince visitors that the guard dog is actually strong and possibly cruel. What would serve this purpose better than a chain? The chain says: this dog is so strong that he needs a big chain to hold him. You should hope it is a very resistant one. The message is quite clear and straightforward.</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Orpheus dog hasn’t a chain but a leash, a red one. Small red elements are quite common in b&w Pompeian mosaics. It could be just an aesthetic choice, a pretext to introduce a red touch in the composition. However, it could also be a way to remark that this dog wears a fancy, elegant leash. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Likewise all the other collars I’ve seen so far in mosaics with domestic dogs, this one is spiked. It was a means to protect the animal from being attacked by other dogs or other animals.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-E2Of-J6sBqcC85GN1t2qt2Vz-s30DlP92WcOJzVHzodgT1eNEbTLti-5ilEBZglRDtZVhBr2EGURtWN6zhZSk9ooyYMucD74eT6TZiFUA7gLzq3KK56Rd0Z_yyk3WaFzkZJSGzVArfl/s1600/teeth1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-E2Of-J6sBqcC85GN1t2qt2Vz-s30DlP92WcOJzVHzodgT1eNEbTLti-5ilEBZglRDtZVhBr2EGURtWN6zhZSk9ooyYMucD74eT6TZiFUA7gLzq3KK56Rd0Z_yyk3WaFzkZJSGzVArfl/s200/teeth1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Threatening teeth of the<br />
House of the Tragic Poet's dog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><u>Anatomical features</u>: unlike the other guard dogs, Orpheus’ dog doesn’t show his teeth. It was a very common feature in other mosaics and an easy but effective touch of realism. Thus, I believe their absence is relevant and makes me think even more that this is not exactly a guard dog.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The eyes are red, which is potentially a worrying detail. However, they are not half closed and threatening (like the other two guard dogs mosaics), but big and shut open. We could even say they look like puppy eyes. Definitely not aggressive or ferocious.</span><br />
<br />
<b>The mosaic</b></div>
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<span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Strongly believing in contextualisation of artefacts, I think it would be quite shallow to look at the image without considering the material characteristics of the object and all the information we have about it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDFfd9L4pMbCnraT5_KmUocaUcIn6-xMW8LrS9Bu7fQDsx1KUyjFrWiviMZQntyNWzdfaHXf8sDhLT5c8YGvRLzfjw9bu1ZbzYs-sEcpeQ31gb6csexmeOz34epPaquo0HqEblyaVvQHp/s1600/teeth2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDFfd9L4pMbCnraT5_KmUocaUcIn6-xMW8LrS9Bu7fQDsx1KUyjFrWiviMZQntyNWzdfaHXf8sDhLT5c8YGvRLzfjw9bu1ZbzYs-sEcpeQ31gb6csexmeOz34epPaquo0HqEblyaVvQHp/s200/teeth2.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dog's stylised teeth<br />
Roman mosaic exhibited<br />
at the Olearie Papali</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><u>Position</u>: the fact that the mosaic was not visible from the street seems to suggest, again, that the dog depicted is not a proper guard dog. If it’s function wasn’t to scary possible thieves or trespassers, what was its purpose? Why such a mosaic should be placed on the threshold of a little, exquisite room?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">According to my experience of Pompeii and Herculaneum, rooms with mosaics tend to follow rules. When the whole room’s floor is covered by a mosaic, the single figurative image is usually in the middle (often framed) while the rest of the room is in plain colour or simple geometrical pattern.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This dog mosaic breaks the rule. It is a figurative, framed image and it is surrounded by a white background. However, it is not central but it is positioned on the threshold of the room. Unlike other mosaics, it doesn’t mark a new use of space because it overlaps with a material threshold, making the purpose redundant.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It seems to me that the position of the mosaic mirrors the position of the other mosaics with dog but, instead of being on the threshold of the house, it is on the threshold of a single room.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This feeling could be backed up or challenged if we knew the orientation of the dog in its original context. Was the animal facing the exterior or the interior of the room? Unfortunately, we can’t know. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFDfLqKAZHmIJifU0tNcFKksiTrNc_qo7bwfwAd2qXv2s3lOh6ErIiL4ByfQlXIgf-8D8CJN4eulES01Yf6fzPeUbZbFZwPL-MMaAlsM-v5ALqP7sD9t1DlTbsyBv-9yNjeoQbEXmRXpF/s1600/eyes1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFDfLqKAZHmIJifU0tNcFKksiTrNc_qo7bwfwAd2qXv2s3lOh6ErIiL4ByfQlXIgf-8D8CJN4eulES01Yf6fzPeUbZbFZwPL-MMaAlsM-v5ALqP7sD9t1DlTbsyBv-9yNjeoQbEXmRXpF/s200/eyes1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The half closed, slightly red eyes of<br />
House of Proculus' dog are, probably,<br />
the most scary detail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><u>Dimension</u>: it might not be immediately perceivable looking at digital reproductions of it, but the mosaic is quite small, compared to the other examples. I haven’t measured it, but I have seen the original in the museum of Naples and i would say it is not bigger than 60 cm (roughly squared). It confirmed again that it wouldn’t have worked very well as a sign to be seen from a distance. The other two guard dog mosaics are not only quite wider but definitely much longer (according to the rectangular shape of the houses' entrances). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">If Orpheus’ mosaic was actually meant for other purposes, it is consistent that it has different dimension (and proportions). It looks almost as if it was the miniature version of a proper one. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>Age</u>: according to John Clarke, the black and white very graphic mosaic style was a new fashion in the 1st century AD. This probably discourages the hypothesis of the mosaic coming from a former house and being moved to the new one (with a change of use: from real warning to house decoration). The practice wasn’t uncommon in Pompeii, especially after the earthquake. </span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-43971659274465936192013-01-15T16:58:00.000+00:002013-01-15T17:04:28.552+00:00The Pollyanna* game: how to be happy that something went wrong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: 12px;">* For those who are not familiar with cheesy children literature, Pollyanna is an annoyingly optimistic little girl always looking at the bright side of things.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJxd2MUj29WGvKVfcdpntfD1jc5D4p0NnR5W7uIAdXs6ZMdAhAbMKSkELYjBuxfz6YFtsoHfiHsdlJwoW1Eeb6BvZQKBmjJcPQ0FhBmiBpU3Anym-giX_gC9WSKiF2lQvEfqjrfwlh3Rn/s1600/3810781.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJxd2MUj29WGvKVfcdpntfD1jc5D4p0NnR5W7uIAdXs6ZMdAhAbMKSkELYjBuxfz6YFtsoHfiHsdlJwoW1Eeb6BvZQKBmjJcPQ0FhBmiBpU3Anym-giX_gC9WSKiF2lQvEfqjrfwlh3Rn/s320/3810781.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The famous "Cave Canem" mosaic at the entrance of<br />
the House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1">When I went to the House of Orpheus in Pompeii, I focused my attention on the place where, I assumed, the mosaic was found: the entrance.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It struck me that the entrance’s floor was sloping. So, I thought, not only the artefact is exhibited (in the Museum of Naples) on a wall when it was supposed to be on the floor, but it is also exhibited perfectly flat when it was meant to be inclined. It looked like a potentially straightforward and effective case for a 3D contextualisation.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I started investigating what you could see from the entrance, how the dog mosaic interacted visually with the other elements in the house: the impluvium, the water and its reflection, the opening on the garden at the back of the tablinum, the actual plants and the painted landscape, the columns, etc... Very exciting (to me, at least!). My attention was also drawn on the interaction between the mosaic and the entrance doors and on the possible shape and movement of doors working on a sloping floor. Even more exciting.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Then, The-Winged-Genius-of-Best-Practice seated on my shoulder and whispered in my ear: “did you check the original records? I mean, are you 100% sure that the mosaic was found at the entrance?” </span><br />
“Of course I’m sure!” I told the winged creature “where else would you put such a mosaic? Have you ever been in Pompeii?! They are ALL at the entrance!”</div>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9gNQQYmLC4DKKAc3fpy0NvFgfK2D7nf_caB2lhhNexs0ZI0pqP3mZkxfBth7S67ziIqOCfrBjXT-g_N5CEFk66xhl1x0owwL5em1F8YqXdpI6hgbf-bkO1F-R3Ls_DFcwhHeeeEyOvlR/s1600/dog_mosaic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9gNQQYmLC4DKKAc3fpy0NvFgfK2D7nf_caB2lhhNexs0ZI0pqP3mZkxfBth7S67ziIqOCfrBjXT-g_N5CEFk66xhl1x0owwL5em1F8YqXdpI6hgbf-bkO1F-R3Ls_DFcwhHeeeEyOvlR/s320/dog_mosaic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic of a Chained Dog, Entrance of the<br />
House of Paquius Proculus, Pompeii</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1">But once such a doubt has hit your mind you can’t get rid of it. So I checked the original records. And I discovered that all my research hypotheses were actually pretty meaningless if not completely wrong.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">According to Matteo della Corte’s records, the mosaic wasn’t found at the entrance but in room 9, a little, beautiful, extremely decorated room just at the right of the entrance (the space that is often occupied by the porter guard).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The mosaic was actually flat, there was no relevant visual interaction with the garden, the impluvium or any other architectonical feature. Actually, the mosaic is not even visible from the street.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I was misled by my experience of the site and by own cultural background according to which such signals (proper or whimsical) are always put in a place where everybody can see them BEFORE entering or approaching a house. So much so that, </span>according to what I have read, a house owner might have even found a “beware of the dog” mosaic more affordable (and almost equally effective) than an actual dog.</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Being the function of such artefacts usually to warn and scare visitors (or potential offenders), it was quite sensible to assume that they were placed in the point of the house that is most visible from the street. Nonetheless, I shouldn’t have assumed it.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The fact that the other mosaics with dogs survived in Pompeii are at the entrance doesn’t mean that they ALL used to be placed at the entrance.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKYUskqpBC-CS5CzwZytkVB6LFnBlUsc5Qqfrgzwg20cxecltfsq3g4e_prQxJPBmwyaHgaUQqRZ1LbmVPuQvnKFmSjprfJz7cIsCwodCVKt6LCfQ_hS6rVdAIshpBIOeEz46oN1LuBDl/s1600/image004.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKYUskqpBC-CS5CzwZytkVB6LFnBlUsc5Qqfrgzwg20cxecltfsq3g4e_prQxJPBmwyaHgaUQqRZ1LbmVPuQvnKFmSjprfJz7cIsCwodCVKt6LCfQ_hS6rVdAIshpBIOeEz46oN1LuBDl/s320/image004.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic of a Sleeping Dog, Entrance of the<br />
House of Caecilius Iucundus, Pompeii</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1">I was quite disappointed. My supervisor reminded me that things that do not follow the rules may lead to very interesting new discoveries. The dog mosaic from the House of Orpheus is certainly a curious exception and, if I was doing my research in a traditional academic environment, I would have been enthusiastic about this unexpected oddity. However, I was trying to build a tool for the general audience and I thought that, for that purpose, it would have been much better to show the rule and not the exception.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">So, what was I supposed to do? It was too late to choose another case study. I had to sort out something with what I had got: a small mosaic of unknown function found in a room of unknown function. I know, it doesn’t sound great...</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Actually, the more I tried to understand this artefact and its context, the more it won my interest and attention. In the end I was completely absorbed by this little pseudo-mystery. So I told myself: “it wouldn’t be perfect if I could make the audience as engaged as I am with the understanding of this artefact?”. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">And that became my new plan...</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-11771670428647305522013-01-11T14:24:00.002+00:002013-01-13T16:19:05.279+00:00You need a circle to build a house<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The plan of the House of Orpheus was the first one I drew directly in 3D studio max. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Initially, I considered using Adobe Illustrator (a software I used quite often in my previous job) but then I realised that now I am more comfortable with Max than with any other graphic software. Furthermore, a plan drawn in Max will be entirely compatible with the 3D model (avoiding some of the problems that imported files may cause).</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-zA3AFguF1OSN8Kn224VgPMfJbKq9VC6bdR1sd8UpqZh-3DVUHeyidMaLRgLZ0YxHc7ayA7_x79XhkoQ2nNrLZZyNE2PwqJSIdI23szpj76KhXBmwmfSE74cFZtHLHFV8qZXd_MNhElD/s1600/HoO3Dmax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-zA3AFguF1OSN8Kn224VgPMfJbKq9VC6bdR1sd8UpqZh-3DVUHeyidMaLRgLZ0YxHc7ayA7_x79XhkoQ2nNrLZZyNE2PwqJSIdI23szpj76KhXBmwmfSE74cFZtHLHFV8qZXd_MNhElD/s400/HoO3Dmax.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My plan of the House of Orpheus in 3D Studio Max</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<br />
At the beginning, I was quite clueless about the methodology to use but Drew, my supervisor, thought me a very effective method based on an initial assumption and the use of circle shapes (or 25 sided n-gon which, in this context, is pretty much the same).</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Our initial assumption (arbitrary as every assumption) was that the atrium of the HoO is a regular rectangle. Although I really doubt that there is any really straight wall in an ancient Roman house, the assumption is mandatory as a starting point. Moreover, the atrium is actually a fairly regular space.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Then, using the data we collected on site, I designed circles with the same ray as the dimension I wanted to represent. The very handy thing is that, being every point of the circle at the same distance form the centre, the circle is still a precise mark even when the adjacent element turns out to be not completely aligned.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Why did I need such a feature? They say numbers never lie, but in my experience they never completely match either :-)</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Material errors during transcription, different layers of plaster, non regular shapes. I can think of a number of variables that may affect the measuring operations. Or it’s just a kind of useful curse to remind 3D modellers that they are not reproducing “the real thing” but only a representation of it. Actually, I encountered a similar issue when I was working on the Temple of Isis. Not only I have never seen two plans with identical measures but sometimes it was difficult even to find two sources that roughly agreed on something. Now I can easily imagine the headaches that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Piranesi">Francesco Piranesi</a> or <a href="http://www.soane.org/">John Soane</a> suffered!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_phzkbTLpe8XUYMjt_H19ZlDbAUg1p4LW4O_Mmc_pFaUN820ntC66dd4wHwIGxUm1UGBUe0rZtKbJsZ-SrcG6DKpScB07oySvvv78KFvHAyAe1YENeMgqI8741jS4fFvJEp1XJE3xGPZq/s1600/HoO3DmaxLayers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_phzkbTLpe8XUYMjt_H19ZlDbAUg1p4LW4O_Mmc_pFaUN820ntC66dd4wHwIGxUm1UGBUe0rZtKbJsZ-SrcG6DKpScB07oySvvv78KFvHAyAe1YENeMgqI8741jS4fFvJEp1XJE3xGPZq/s400/HoO3DmaxLayers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My plan of the House of Orpheus in 3D Studio Max<br />
(all the working layers visualised)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<br />
Considering the basic level of fuzziness (usually between 2 and 7 cm) embedded in my data, using circle shapes was extremely useful and allowed me to deal with that fascinating jigsaw of walls, doors and columns.</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Here are few things I should say about this digital plan, in order to make it more transparent.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* The thickness of the walls in the House of Orpheus if fairly regular. With the exception of the wall separating rooms 5 and 10, they all measure between 40 and 45 cm. Thus, I thought it was safe to assume that the walls I wasn’t able to measure because they are shared with other houses we were not allowed to enter (such as the south wall of the garden, or the west walls of rooms 14 and 15 ) follow the same rule. I also made the assumption that the walls overlooking the street are a bit thicker than the internal ones.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* The length of the viridarium (from south to north) has been calculated summing the diameters of the columns to the distance between them. Even though I have measured every single intercolumnation, I have measured only one column and I have assumed (for simplicity) that they have all the same diameter. I also assumed (again, for simplicity) that all the columns were perfectly aligned. My calculation was quite well backed up by the sum of the elements belonging to rooms 12, 4, 5, 10 and 11.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* All the traditional plans of Pompeii I have seen so far, tend to simplify the shape of the rooms and make them more regular than they actually are. I have chosen to preserve the irregularities and the oddities in the rooms dimensions because I thought they might be relevant in the visual analysis.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* The positioning of the impluvium in the present map is an approximation. It was the last element of the House we measured and we were running out of time (and light). I measured the dimensions of the impluvium itself and its marble elements but I didn’t measure their distance from the walls of the atrium.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">My supervisor is quite confident that we could derive a more precise position through the photogrammetry of the atrium he ran.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* When I had little inconsistencies with my data I chose the option tending to the most regular shape.</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-69934003583295462152013-01-05T12:49:00.001+00:002013-01-06T01:44:00.139+00:00A good recipe<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicInVjmvNAWVW0uN48mdtmTeTKMkhoxobm-kvR92244jurpS8e7FY4a9H9Ky4yhDXSAiM072bnMvVc1fTCy84bp_DOY60_T_tcbLFSVgIHr6YLznX6GfiV_rN-D5mMMlGVN6-MpcPW4dwD/s1600/HoO_number.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicInVjmvNAWVW0uN48mdtmTeTKMkhoxobm-kvR92244jurpS8e7FY4a9H9Ky4yhDXSAiM072bnMvVc1fTCy84bp_DOY60_T_tcbLFSVgIHr6YLznX6GfiV_rN-D5mMMlGVN6-MpcPW4dwD/s320/HoO_number.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pompeii VI, 14, 20. House of Orpheus<br />
Entrance, Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was the first time I took hard measurements of an ancient building, so this experience was extremely useful (and exciting!) to me.<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Here is a list of things that, according to what I have learnt, can give you a successful field experience: </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>Permission</u>: the House of Orpheus is actually closed to the public, so we asked for a permission to access and document the building. I am glad to say that, in spite of an easy prejudice, our permission was granted in a couple of weeks and we had no problems entering the site. I take this opportunity to thank Grete Stefani, Director of the Scavi, and all her staff for the kindness and efficiency.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>A clever mate</u>: I would also like to thank Dr. Faith Lawrence, from the </span>King’s College Department of Digital Humanities, who kindly volunteered to assist me in the measuring operations. My final work owes a lot to her patience and precision in those days (not to mention the good company).</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>A sunny day (or, at least, a non rainy one)</u>: luckily, a part from some clouds in the afternoon, the light was not too bad for taking photographs.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>A Code</u>: as I discovered, transcribing measurements is not that easy. Not even if you want to annotate them on a pre-existing plan (method we used with the Temple of Isis but not with the House of Orpheus). Where would you put, for example, all the information connected to the hight of the elements? (doors, steps etc...)</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">You need to work out a code to register all the information. That’s why I am so happy Faith joined us. Not only she wrote the information quickly and correctly, but she also worked out on the spot a visual code simple enough to be still understandable weeks later when I actually started working on the model.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>A hard covered black agenda</u>: if you want to measure straight walls with an EDM (electronic distance measurer) you will soon find out that you have a problem! Obviously, the laser only works if it has a surface to fall on. So, my supervisor showed me that the best way to deal with this problem is to create a little extension of the wall that the laser can target. His black Moleskine perfectly served the purpose! </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRCUTKPO9anIRvA1NuZ27ObS-x0L9SVfCFmILPK-xC_ZorD16hloU-lAFfDwpn8MRFd5YkX54k2NJ1KNGJ9EaXsiDkv0y9oJvEoh4nv6f1t_tVN7VRzXwiSBfdE79Q6GZKQi3SIzEmyFt/s1600/HoOplasterlayers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRCUTKPO9anIRvA1NuZ27ObS-x0L9SVfCFmILPK-xC_ZorD16hloU-lAFfDwpn8MRFd5YkX54k2NJ1KNGJ9EaXsiDkv0y9oJvEoh4nv6f1t_tVN7VRzXwiSBfdE79Q6GZKQi3SIzEmyFt/s320/HoOplasterlayers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, Room 10<br />
An example of the two layers of plaster<br />
photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><u>Tolerance and flexibility</u>: holding an EDM gives you the illusion of precision. Until you start using it. There is nothing wrong with the tool, of course. The problem is that you have to decide every 5 minutes WHAT are you actually measuring and if it is really relevant for your research. You simply cannot measure everything. The process is much more time consuming then I thought. For a big villa such as the House of Orpheus a whole day is not enough. So, you have to decide your priorities. For example, to my project, decorative elements were not so relevant because I was going to build a synthetic model.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The other major issue was dealing with the thickness of walls. Frescoes were painted on a quite thick layer of plaster of 4 or 5 cm. Furthermore, many rooms in the House of Orpheus have been re decorated. It means that a new layer had been applied on the previous one. Thus, we are talking of an extra thickness of 7-10 cm. (not to mention the plaster deformed by the exposure to the atmospherical elements). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The point is that the plaster didn’t survive in all the rooms and, within the same room, it didn’t survive on all the walls. So, in more then few occasions, I had to decide if I wanted to measure the length of a wall with or without the remains of the plaster. Some other times I just couldn’t decide because the wall was entirely covered by or entirely devoid of the plaster layers.</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I wanted to be as much consistent as possible and I decided, when I had the choice, to measure the dimensions WITH the plaster layers because I thought it was a better approximation of the dimensions of the spaces as they were perceived by people (which is my main interest in this case). However, it implies that a discrepancy of 7-10 cm is very likely to appear in many of my measurements. As I was not interested in such a level of precision for my present research, I believe my plan is still a very reliable starting point for the model. Moreover, I assume that the architects who drew the previous plans had to deal exactly with the same issue.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cVCKRbPTZTE5ZIt3yyp1ttU2glVenRD2pU8zZgvppDxFqi3hhpZIcYxSJ0859JpVvLooMkxy3okY4aClAduUeEWDosAHlvwpbj_QlEoj_GDasJo-3VlOb46ba6h8w2r2ez3NlMOLt_eG/s1600/HoOplaster_wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cVCKRbPTZTE5ZIt3yyp1ttU2glVenRD2pU8zZgvppDxFqi3hhpZIcYxSJ0859JpVvLooMkxy3okY4aClAduUeEWDosAHlvwpbj_QlEoj_GDasJo-3VlOb46ba6h8w2r2ez3NlMOLt_eG/s320/HoOplaster_wall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, room 7<br />
The Plaster Dilemma: where to target the EDM? To the surviving plaster bits or to the masonry?<br />
Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<u><br /></u>
<u>A foresighted supervisor</u>: taking hard measurements is something that you shouldn't do on your own. You need at least one more person to write things down (or hold your Moleskine when you use the laser measurer!). It is even better if a third person (let’s say your supervisor, for example) independently retake some of the measurements allowing you, days later, to double check your data. It is easy to get confused when you spend a whole day writing down numbers. A series of second measurements is a priceless back up.<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><u>A camera (possibly a good one)</u>: sometimes you have to model buildings that do not exist anymore. Sometimes you have to model buildings you’ve never seen with your eyes. Some other times you are lucky enough to be able to go on site and take loads of pictures. I took more than 300 and I thought they were enough. I was wrong: they are never enough! </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Pictures have been crucial for the drawing of the plan and the modelling. When I had a doubt, I went to check my pictures. </span>I also took full advantage of both the contemporary and the historical pictures available on <a href="http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/index.htm">pompeiiinpictures</a> and I definitely want to contribute to this very precious service myself. I will be more than happy to share my photographic documentation with all the archeologists and modellers who are interested in it.</div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-68832082423848451802013-01-04T15:16:00.002+00:002013-01-11T14:44:38.754+00:00Orpheus has a new plan<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RGVYfuUD4WdEeIxBcOiKw3UQgDAuCHtt9yqJaFhD6AtJJYzU2TN36GZ1rlhPhjhFxkq_oVic-WVWgu3dCs8g-TTNGL15NSsAL2Ucbb-3CmWaeMx4taQQU_aG_tEBM8Uy7qj8O3_gp55-/s1600/VI.14.20_VanDerPoel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RGVYfuUD4WdEeIxBcOiKw3UQgDAuCHtt9yqJaFhD6AtJJYzU2TN36GZ1rlhPhjhFxkq_oVic-WVWgu3dCs8g-TTNGL15NSsAL2Ucbb-3CmWaeMx4taQQU_aG_tEBM8Uy7qj8O3_gp55-/s320/VI.14.20_VanDerPoel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VanderPoel's plan of the House of Orpheus<br />
Highlight in orange: the south wall of the garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In order to model a visualisation of the House of Orpheus, I decided to make a new plan of the building, based on the hard measurements we took on site.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Why? What is the added value of such an effort? Wouldn’t have been more sensible to start from a good pre existing plan, such as Presuhn’s or <a href="http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=vanderpoel-halsted-b-cr.xml">Vander Poel</a>’s ones?</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I had basically two reasons for that.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">First, maps and plans are simplified visualisations of places. Thus, they are «models», ie artificial objects created to represent and study reality. This implies that they cannot represent all the aspects of reality but have to choose what is relevant for a specific purpose. To make it simpler, I wanted a plan made ad hoc for my purpose, and the only way to have it was, basically, to make my own.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">For example, if we compare Presuhn’s and Vander Poel’s plans we’ll notice that they are slightly different. In the latter, the south wall of the garden is slightly divergent from the north one, while in the former the south wall converges to the north one quite dramatically.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
Who is right and how did it happen? In my opinion, the point is that all maps start from some artificial assumptions. The first assumptions affect the entire visualisation of the data. Presuhn and Vander Poel probably started from different assumptions, thus their plans (which are both not «the real place» but a representation of it) are not identical. However, if their purpose was (as I think) to visualise the relationships between buildings and their arrangement in the city plan, the maps are both useful and both «correct».</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitThubGB6YLISm1rZxr1zzwsTUkXjqgjpeU_0nklkVmC_fFnzDHeYZxWkttCwCjTeUEo5orzgQoWreW2ggHqBVas8bCmLanUTGc3DQ1bUNHVnFlCDVOCB3rWkffZgqBed5aseSNc7bIUIo/s1600/prehesun_plan_viridarium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitThubGB6YLISm1rZxr1zzwsTUkXjqgjpeU_0nklkVmC_fFnzDHeYZxWkttCwCjTeUEo5orzgQoWreW2ggHqBVas8bCmLanUTGc3DQ1bUNHVnFlCDVOCB3rWkffZgqBed5aseSNc7bIUIo/s320/prehesun_plan_viridarium.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presuhn's plan of the House of Orpheus<br />
Highlight in orange: the south wall of the garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, my purpose wasn’t to examine the House of Orpheus in a relational perspective. Actually, it is very relevant to me if a wall like the viridarium's one is straight or not because it would definitely affect the information about visibility of spaces.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Eventually, I decided to build my own map relying on my hard measurements, photographic documentation, previous plans and satellite photographs as the ones offered by google maps and google earth.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Second, Johanson says that there is no better way to understand an ancient building than rebuild it, at least in a virtual space. I discovered it when I started modelling and this relationship still deeply fascinates me. In my previous experience, I always started from someone else’s plan. At the beginning, I saw the need to draw my own one “only” as a challenge and an opportunity to learn new skills. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Then, when I started working on the plan I realised how much I was already learning about the building itself, the relationship between spaces, the orientation, the proportions, the position of doors, the balance (or lack of it). When I finished the plan, I already knew crucial information about the building even before starting the proper modelling.</span></div>
<br />Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-16580968993589807942013-01-03T16:32:00.002+00:002013-01-03T16:33:20.808+00:00"we were all the more vividly transported into the past"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uZv2CAIa4gFB__sDnGgdXoNddGIKmzxwq4ma-br2M9U8IQoqw0XXQ80KWlNexEmvfs_-ETXkHfRNbaMLwtskR6GqzPHCDUAjMSQY9p-JJ21FuohqqXE2YQBMa30XUNR6rzmiDoPJ-XoT/s1600/13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uZv2CAIa4gFB__sDnGgdXoNddGIKmzxwq4ma-br2M9U8IQoqw0XXQ80KWlNexEmvfs_-ETXkHfRNbaMLwtskR6GqzPHCDUAjMSQY9p-JJ21FuohqqXE2YQBMa30XUNR6rzmiDoPJ-XoT/s320/13.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen utensils found in Pompeii<br />
From <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17290/17290-h/17290-h.htm">The Wonders of Pompeii</a> available<br />
on The Project Gutenberg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">On site, buildings on their own look empty and it is difficult to imagine them as lived spaces. In museums, objects on their own are abstractions, not entirely comprehensible. But when they are connected (and connected with their context) they offer a much more valuable experience to the visitor. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Unfortunately, putting them together (creating a link between the city and the artefacts) requires a big effort of visual imagination, especially considering how little information is available both on site and in museums to help the user.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">When I went to the Museum of Naples for the first time, one of the museum staff members claimed that the ideal user experience should be: going to Pompeii, then visiting the museum of Naples and last going to Pompeii again. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It is exactly what I did for my research: I went to Pompeii, to Naples and again to Pompeii in a few weeks time. Actually, the experience was so exciting I decided to spend my next 4 years studying it! However, how many tourists and visitors are likely to do something similar? Very few indeed. This is why I think digital unification and virtual museums are successful approaches to deal with a problem that can only be solved in the digital space.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">As a support for my thesis, I’m borrowing the words of writers much better than me to describe on the one hand the frustration of the tourist in Pompeii and on the other hand how much the experience of the artefacts can enrich the perception of the buildings (and viceversa). </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuZWo0OOY1iFTQhqiWXqDJwyCt4KQkHszLrcBnyqSAWiyd1YKDl0tM1_birn6XnTxxmZBgV155v_ZYBjEkgYs-UB9cWJqS42WlaeOqmmCnn103WFvjcB3af_sMQaPQptebsQR6WXQvZy7/s1600/20.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuZWo0OOY1iFTQhqiWXqDJwyCt4KQkHszLrcBnyqSAWiyd1YKDl0tM1_birn6XnTxxmZBgV155v_ZYBjEkgYs-UB9cWJqS42WlaeOqmmCnn103WFvjcB3af_sMQaPQptebsQR6WXQvZy7/s320/20.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pompeii, the Small Theatre<br />
From <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17290/17290-h/17290-h.htm">The Wonders of Pompeii</a> available<br />
on The Project Gutenberg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i>“</i></span><span class="s1"><i>I might tell you of a pretty picture on a rich mosaic in such-and-such room. You would go thither to look for it and not find it. The museum at Naples has it, and if it be not there it is nowhere. Time, the atmosphere, and the sunlight have destroyed it. Therefore those who make out an inventory of these houses for you are preparing your bitter disappointments. The only way to get an idea of Pompeian art is not to examine all these monuments separately, but to group them in one’s mind, and then to pay the museum an attentive visit.”</i></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><i></i></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17290/17290-h/17290-h.htm">The Wonders of Pompeii</a>, Monnier, 1867</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">“<i>we were all the more vividly transported into the past, when all these objects were part and parcel of their owner’s life. They quite changed my picture of Pompeii. In my mind’s eye its homes now looked both more cramped and more spatious - more cramped because I now saw them crowded with objects, and more spacious because these objects were not made merely for use but were decorated with such art and grace that they enlarged and refreshed the mind in a way that the physical space of even the largest room cannot do.</i>”</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Italian Journey, Goethe, 1816 </span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-73249024531289325502013-01-03T15:24:00.002+00:002013-01-24T17:53:19.296+00:00"To say" and "to do": why objects in museums are not self explanatory<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6HT3WbIjFI1uJxgjHYSE7emnbkv55vdNBvUDx3-3h5UEzE-PwvxIvhNtmj0UrGpXsvC5vUCbFzE8Czgm-mrToKzSeeuwlpm8ZyoAb5VKl8XGYgJJ2BAABaIzp2SMl6DXqdwYngu4gJrl/s1600/9788806162443g.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6HT3WbIjFI1uJxgjHYSE7emnbkv55vdNBvUDx3-3h5UEzE-PwvxIvhNtmj0UrGpXsvC5vUCbFzE8Czgm-mrToKzSeeuwlpm8ZyoAb5VKl8XGYgJJ2BAABaIzp2SMl6DXqdwYngu4gJrl/s320/9788806162443g.jpeg" width="185" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">If we focus on everyday-life items, archaeological museums have many issues in common with ethnographic museums. This is why I am reading a book written by a great Italian anthropologist, Alberto Mario Cirese, who I was lucky enough to have as a teacher some years ago.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The classification, interpretation and display of objects in ethnographic museums was one of its main research interests and I found papers and books such as <i><a href="http://www.einaudi.it/libri/libro/alberto-mario-cirese/oggetti-segni-musei/978880616244">Oggetti Segni Musei</a></i> (Objects Signs Museums) still incredibly relevant to the present scholarly debate.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Cirese complains about the practice of exhibiting everyday-life items on walls or in glass cabinets with little or no information about their use. </span>Curators are biased because they already know how the objects were employed, so they assume this information is easily accessible to the audience and it is somehow embedded in the objects themselves. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Not only experience tells us that this is not true, but, according to Cirese, logic suggests it as well.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Aesthetic objects, as statues or paintings, have a strong communicative value. They are objects meant “to say”, to make themselves comprehensible (through logic or emotion) to the viewers. This is why they tend to work quite well in museums or even in churches or streets.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">But everyday-life objects such as looms, pots, tools, machinery they are not meant “to say” something but “to do” something, to work instead of communicate. Thus they lack the visual information necessary to be understood at first glance. Nonetheless, when they are exhibited in ethnographic (or archaeological) museums they are supposed “to say about how they work” as they have suddenly became self explanatory only because they have been moved to a museum context.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Obviously, there are many intermediate positions between this opposition (my language skills make it very difficult to render in English such an effective terminology as the one used by Cirese who opposed «segnico» to «fabrile»). </span>For example, as Cirese reminds, there are objects that have both a practical and a communicative function such as <i>ex voto</i>. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHyEMfHnT7tC2DSHink8NXAbkJAogBSQ3BDxd8Y8lPneZnDkQ32UuN_wB6SUTiODGMFrbfqwiCuzMpFckKxHVi29z7lP_P_XkdqNyXVv6tStVTYCPWrJAUr-Z4_0ufUw_qOXI84LhSJSI/s1600/museo-etnografico1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHyEMfHnT7tC2DSHink8NXAbkJAogBSQ3BDxd8Y8lPneZnDkQ32UuN_wB6SUTiODGMFrbfqwiCuzMpFckKxHVi29z7lP_P_XkdqNyXVv6tStVTYCPWrJAUr-Z4_0ufUw_qOXI84LhSJSI/s320/museo-etnografico1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethnographic Museum in Formentera<br />
<a href="http://www.formenteraweb.com/reports/museums/ethnography-museum-in-formentera/1/#inicicont">from formenteraweb</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, in an archeological context where so many information about use are lost, even these kind of objects need to be contextualised to be understood (figurative votive offers to ancient divinities might be not as understandable as the ones closer to the scholar’s own cultural background). It also worths to mention what Leroy Gourhan called «aesthetic functionality*»: the attempt of good craftsmen to achieve best practice combining pleasantness and functionality, use and decoration.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Cirese claims that the only way to make objects understandable to an a non expert audience (ie an audience that has no idea about the original use of the objects themselves) is to recreate, as much as possible, their context of use. In case of tools, he believes it would be mandatory to show the object IN USE, to communicate its very relevance. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The task is not easy, especially with those objects whose context is not fixed (a house, a shop) but intangible (or «volatile» as Cirese would have preferred to say) such as rites, games, celebrations.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">According to Cirese, a realistic reconstruction (with mannequins, for example) wouldn’t have been effective because the attempt to reproduce reality is doom to fail and it is bound to be disappointing if not ridiculous. </span>On the contrary, a synthetic representation that is explicitly not realistic but identifies and isolates only those characteristics of reality that are relevant to the exhibition purposes, could successfully deliver contextual information.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It really saddens me that Professor Cirese is no longer with us and I would be really happy to ask him if, in his opinion, non-realistic 3D digital visualisation could serve this purpose and even suggest new opportunities. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I genuinely think so.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> (*my translation from Italian)</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-66833080435639228992013-01-02T19:00:00.001+00:002013-01-02T19:00:47.528+00:00Isis does it better<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbixZoA0tLPiLFoWwYpyaARE3JwrxfXN1sb0Gv41RF3ThKNkscFwI4Uzy_lC_ATEW-7r3NKLaJrgUXUBFSM-c9bx2BhLVEYnYrJeecG4u6jRzyg58EcNZxCxTbPyopUX7-QE796-odKQrF/s1600/ekkl_cornerC_little.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbixZoA0tLPiLFoWwYpyaARE3JwrxfXN1sb0Gv41RF3ThKNkscFwI4Uzy_lC_ATEW-7r3NKLaJrgUXUBFSM-c9bx2BhLVEYnYrJeecG4u6jRzyg58EcNZxCxTbPyopUX7-QE796-odKQrF/s320/ekkl_cornerC_little.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archaeological Museum of Naples<br />
Temple of Isis Collection. Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It is not possible to write about the Pompeian artefacts exhibited in the Museum of Naples without mentioning what is, in my opinion, the museum’s best achievement: the <a href="http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museoarcheologiconazionale/percorso/nel-museo/P_RA24">Temple of Isis’ Collection</a>. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Unlike the other more old fashioned areas of the museum, this little sub-complex has been re arranged in order to deliver a richer and more engaging information. It looks as if they were trying to meet the same audience’s needs expressed by the visitors I have interviewed. Unfortunately, the collection is closed for refurbishment but, t</span>hanks to the museum's direction's kindness, I had the privilege to visit it one year ago to gather documentation for my dissertation on the Temple of Isis.</div>
<div class="p1">
Here follows a few notes about the collection, in comparison with the other Pompeian collections of the Museum.</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Language</b>: all the labels and the information are available in Italian and English, making the praiseworthy communication effort enjoyable by a larger audience.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dZuTF6rkQGQaxhaLy4Vdu3-sYXvYVUW13eyle1fwM43d7zkmDSFF4NIYgoKTN7y7OqoCBfCIbqlu6DRCdsbdCLeLPSDheto-1q_jPZywBvtWMFv8NmLnVGyzXyF2rnYWwrIDP0qjzgml/s1600/ekkl_5_4_little.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dZuTF6rkQGQaxhaLy4Vdu3-sYXvYVUW13eyle1fwM43d7zkmDSFF4NIYgoKTN7y7OqoCBfCIbqlu6DRCdsbdCLeLPSDheto-1q_jPZywBvtWMFv8NmLnVGyzXyF2rnYWwrIDP0qjzgml/s320/ekkl_5_4_little.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archaeological Museum of Naples<br />
Temple of Isis Collection. Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Richer descriptions</b>: the labels are less laconic and there are few panels telling at least basic information about the temple and the use of its different spaces (the porticus, the sacrarium the ekklesiaterion etc...). </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Contextual information</b>: the exhibition is rich in contextual information. The first room displays a plastic of the iseum, where the user can see the frescoes’ fragments put in place and have an idea of the architectonical structure of the temple. In the same room are also exhibited ancient documentation from the excavations (1760s) such as Francesco Piranesi’s drawings and the engravings commissioned by the king before the removing of of the frescoes.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Almost every artefact is accompanied by a short text about its use, provenance and sometimes even about its finding location during the excavations.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In one of the room dedicated to the artefacts from the porticus area, a 2D visualisation helps the visitor placing each fragment on the original pattern, communicating the idea that, even though the fragments are framed and hanged on walls like paintings, they were not autonomous but part of a whole pattern. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Relationships between artefacts</b>: I believe this is the only Pompeian collection in the museum that gathers different kind of artefacts (frescoes, statues, ritual objects, inscriptions not immediately linkable to each other) and shows their connection, presenting them as elements of the same context: the temple is communicated as a «entity», a decorated public and sacred space. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">As always, there is room for improvement. For example, the plastic lacks in transparency, as it is implicitly presented as a reconstruction of the “real thing”, without mentioning the scholarly process or the component of speculation behind it and without mentioning that there are more than one possible, and plausible, visualisations.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEU_atDc5Q6gAJ5j3wZd-sP9rCq61U9Pyb4Ly7srUc6f3ouxSXCcoqZNGTXGm4-6CsRE4bwR_I6fEJx39DnPBiVVQgM9Q3SZeNwrH8dystOal-qoQyrNtBkx591XZDxtXkVpOQQiwTEmXj/s1600/plastico-little.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEU_atDc5Q6gAJ5j3wZd-sP9rCq61U9Pyb4Ly7srUc6f3ouxSXCcoqZNGTXGm4-6CsRE4bwR_I6fEJx39DnPBiVVQgM9Q3SZeNwrH8dystOal-qoQyrNtBkx591XZDxtXkVpOQQiwTEmXj/s320/plastico-little.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archaeological Museum of Naples<br />
Temple of Isis Collection: scale model<br />
Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecLKbYcEM-PBtIfvh3z6XpGk1jp24teHw02n8rn19MbHvdRMA0u8Tq2mMzZi_oa3ou1afQ9zFnj41t-ELM1rHY6bzkUCKqkWY6wbdv_u4LyqgYAnZYJ1f36vTzny28GLm90uj_DhJTdGF/s1600/porticus02_schemaClit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecLKbYcEM-PBtIfvh3z6XpGk1jp24teHw02n8rn19MbHvdRMA0u8Tq2mMzZi_oa3ou1afQ9zFnj41t-ELM1rHY6bzkUCKqkWY6wbdv_u4LyqgYAnZYJ1f36vTzny28GLm90uj_DhJTdGF/s320/porticus02_schemaClit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archaeological Museum of Naples<br />
Temple of Isis Collection: informative panel<br />
Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Moreover, the panels that are supposed to help visitors to locate the fragments on the original walls are, in my opinion, a bit too schematic for a non expert audience and, they make up only partially for the actual disposition of the fragments on the museum walls. In fact, even though frescoes coming from the same area of the iseum are grouped together, they are displayed on the walls disregarding both their vertical (top/down) and horizontal (left/centre/right) original position, creating a slightly confusing match.<br />
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I am remarking that because I believe that digital products could help an archaeological museum to improve the quality and quantity of delivered information. Nonetheless, the Isis collection is an interesting attempt to renovate the museum’s approach. It is probably not realistic to rearrange a whole museum (situated in an historical building) in such a way but the Isis collection can be seen as an example, able to give to the public an idea of the relationships between the artefacts, between the artefacts and their interpretations, between the artefacts and the building, between both of them and the ancient inhabitants of Pompeii.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I look forward to the news that such an interesting area of the museum is available again to the public. </span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-69469180300113327452012-12-26T12:25:00.003+00:002013-01-04T22:30:51.358+00:00Museum of Naples: complaints department #2<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJK9_5WoABNeVyX-i_8HMbllUedXs1i1yDuS66f8NVEG2SRs_Z-EfhW0_ZIbz_MDtWqdsJzqLTrd19jno6sBZYvSW3L1NrZxSrHTPv2P8rFnTAldwEiCprR0hMPs2BHYGzh3yeHH7LE-x6/s1600/mosaic-room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJK9_5WoABNeVyX-i_8HMbllUedXs1i1yDuS66f8NVEG2SRs_Z-EfhW0_ZIbz_MDtWqdsJzqLTrd19jno6sBZYvSW3L1NrZxSrHTPv2P8rFnTAldwEiCprR0hMPs2BHYGzh3yeHH7LE-x6/s320/mosaic-room.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mueum of Naples, Mosaics Collection<br />
From the <a href="http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museoarcheologiconazionale/percorso/nel-museo/P_RA14">Museum's website</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">There is one last complaint that does not come from the people I interviewed but from my personal experience and was highlight by my current research.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>No information about the relationship between objects</b>: sometimes different objects come from the same house, but the visitor is not able to see the connection. In some cases the objects are physically dispersed, like the mosaic of the guard dog from the House of Orpheus (exhibited in the Museum of Naples) and the plaster cast of the dog (from the same house but exhibited in the <a href="http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquarium_di_Boscoreale">Antiquarium of Boscoreale</a>), but even when they are in the same museum the relationship is not explicit for the visitor.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
On the contrary, sometimes it seems that misleading connections are accidentally suggested by the use of exhibition's space. As Parry remarks, space in museum is part of the communicative process. Proximity implies meaningful connections between items. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">For example, I went to the Archaeological Museum of Taranto (<a href="http://www.museotaranto.org/web/index.php?area=1&page=home&id=0&lng=en">MARTA</a>) yesterday and I couldn’t initially understand the display's criteria. Then a guide explained that the different objects exhibited together came from the same burial. The curators had also added ancient statuettes or paintings illustrating how the found ear rings, buttons or fibulae used to be wore. Having received that information everything made much more sense to me.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to work out what are the display criteria in the Museum of Naples. For example, floor mosaics are exhibited next to wall mosaics (as fountains or nymphea’s decorations). To be honest, sometimes the criterion seemed to be simply chromatic similarity or aesthetic pleasantness.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Actually, the <a href="http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museoarcheologiconazionale/percorso/nel-museo/P_RA14">Museum's website</a> says that the mosaics are exhibited according to the building materials and techniques. However, this information is not accessible during the visit of the museum.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">It is not my intention to criticise the museum’s management because I understand that is very easy to judge and much more difficult to deal with such a complex situation. However, I can’t help thinking of how much of the potential of one of the most interesting museum in the world is partly wasted. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Furthermore, if the site of Pompeii can still live on its fame, aura and unique history, I believe that the Museum should definitely invest in the quality of the information it is able to deliver.</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-39442329377967820532012-12-26T11:50:00.001+00:002013-01-02T15:25:30.706+00:00Museum of Naples: complaints department #1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqC7DaP0GZiWHy5PMrAifW_eVfBm-poUscDVAodaEqBXsp1LgE7X6TXanJ3vYoreYps_aPzetHEe6uINV7mAIli4LjSKSUkiigpthHAUeB1a0BvRqxHKFgvVE2nbWrc3VQFY2kvDABf6Yl/s1600/Sommer%252C_Giorgio_%25281834-1914%2529_-_Vasi_antichi_nel_Museo_archeologico_nazionale_di_Napoli_-_04.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqC7DaP0GZiWHy5PMrAifW_eVfBm-poUscDVAodaEqBXsp1LgE7X6TXanJ3vYoreYps_aPzetHEe6uINV7mAIli4LjSKSUkiigpthHAUeB1a0BvRqxHKFgvVE2nbWrc3VQFY2kvDABf6Yl/s320/Sommer%252C_Giorgio_%25281834-1914%2529_-_Vasi_antichi_nel_Museo_archeologico_nazionale_di_Napoli_-_04.jpeg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G. Sommer, Ancient Vases in the<br />
Archaeological Museum of Naples<br />
from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sommer,_Giorgio_(1834-1914)_-_Vasi_antichi_nel_Museo_archeologico_nazionale_di_Napoli_-_04.jpg">wikipedia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">So far, I have written notes about Pompeii and the absence of the artefacts on site. What about the ancient objects found in the ancient city? Are the visitors of the Archaeological Museum in Naples more satisfied than the site’s ones?</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Apparently they are not. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Even though all the visitors I have spoken with recognised that the Museum shows interesting items, they were all disappointed (to different extents) by their visit.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The followings are the most common complaints</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Language</b>: almost everything is written in Italian. If the visitors don’t want to pay for an audioguide, there is no means to access even the most basic information in a language other than Italian. Considering that the Museum is visited by a very international audience this is very difficult to accept.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Brief and generic descriptions</b>: even Italian visitors were disappointed by the information delivered in the museum, not because of the language but because they found it not sufficient and too generic. The labels are scarce and sometimes just made of two or three words (for instance: “vase, Pompeii”).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>No information about use</b>: it is difficulty to understand how everyday-life items were used. Not only surgical tools but even kitchen supplies remain somehow mysterious. The visitors can observe the objects but, because it is impossible to imagine their function or their context of use, the audience tends to loose interest in them.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In my opinion, this is really a shame as everyday-life items can be seen as the highest value offered by the archaeological site of Pompeii. In fact, if it is more likely that exceptional items survive because they are valuable and people take care of them, everyday-life objects often disappear completely. Moreover, Pompeii is one of the best places to analyse those objects in a richer context.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1VOHfX-gby5S0TnIdYrpXEKHBovPvng02vun5QEt4bbptxx-Rn49XoUzLxAW1CLx_Fxp2rkHxTh65m-HnUEeLG82h0tiWLsg4cHg4ouu5qjmJL-zaBNdX6KQ8kkk2G4IZ_olQbceqWv2/s1600/BGA-F-010230-0000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1VOHfX-gby5S0TnIdYrpXEKHBovPvng02vun5QEt4bbptxx-Rn49XoUzLxAW1CLx_Fxp2rkHxTh65m-HnUEeLG82h0tiWLsg4cHg4ouu5qjmJL-zaBNdX6KQ8kkk2G4IZ_olQbceqWv2/s320/BGA-F-010230-0000.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G. Brogi, Surgical tools in the Archaeological Museum<br />
of Naples. From the <a href="http://shop.alinari.it/it/scheda-prodotto-1063">Alinari Collection</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The ones listed above were the impressions that my volunteers spontaneously communicated to me. Then I asked them few specific questions focusing on the topics more closely related to my present research. For example, I tried to understand how easy was for the public to establish a connection (both cognitive and visual) between the artefacts and the provenance building. There was a general agreement on this subject and here follows a sum up of what they told me [plus my comments in square brackets].</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Little or no information about provenance</b>: t</span>he provenance of the objects is not always stated. Often the labels just say “Pompeii” or “Herculaneum”. In some cases the provenance of the artefact is identified with the code of regionis and insulae set by Giuseppe Fiorelli. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">[I believe this choice is already disappointing for visitors who know a little bit of the toponomastic of Pompeii but I find it quite unsuitable for general public. Fiorelli’s code is precise and clever and it is very useful in archaeological excavations, records and studies. However, I don’t think it was meant for communicative purposes. Moreover, considering how peculiar and evocative are the names of many of the houses in Pompeii, using them might allow more people to connect the items with the place they come from.]</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Little or no information about the context</b>: not only it is often very difficult to establish a relationship between the object and the building, but also between the object and its context. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">[Mosaics for example, are usually exhibited on walls and there is no mention that they used to be floors’ decoration. Contextual information is almost completely missing. Speaking of mosaics, that are one of my specific target, there is very few information about how they were built, why they where used to decorate spaces, in what kind of houses and rooms they have been found etc... I believe this kind of information would definitely make the object more interesting in the visitor’s eye]</span></div>
<br />Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-17455843801880706262012-12-09T19:53:00.002+00:002012-12-10T22:34:32.870+00:00Pompeii: complaints department #1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe0XXNVNn_U8OIH_jL2AOAJiUBZr3XTFqX7JLG-GM2azizugfa6q9Mf3x4-_94Ra3y-RG4aCbyKaYLYVt6xcMEIgexHxgaM0OQrg9HKdFomKulm_JpBUqtPww0G0Lpt1_s63kqj92fGos/s1600/Pompei-Map.mediumthumb.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe0XXNVNn_U8OIH_jL2AOAJiUBZr3XTFqX7JLG-GM2azizugfa6q9Mf3x4-_94Ra3y-RG4aCbyKaYLYVt6xcMEIgexHxgaM0OQrg9HKdFomKulm_JpBUqtPww0G0Lpt1_s63kqj92fGos/s320/Pompei-Map.mediumthumb.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the Pompeii available for free <br />
with the entrance ticket</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am preparing the questionnaire I will give to the visitors of the British Museum and make available online for other volunteers.<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In the meantime, I want to transcribe some notes about the first information I gathered, very informally, from </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* people I met on site and during my visit at the museum of Naples </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">* people I have met in the subsequent days but have agreed to share with me their opinions and experiences.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">On site:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">People tend to arrive on site with a high level of expectation. Everybody knows about the tragic end of Pompeii and everybody knows that it is one of the most precious archaeological resources of the world. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I have approached tourists that were not part of a guided tour for obvious reasons. Often they were couples. Some of them had a published touristic guide, others just the leaflet that the ticket office gave them. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">They all appreciated the opportunity to wander freely in the site (they often defined it as “a wonderful opportunity”) but, on the other hand, they all lamented a certain lack of information.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Having some of them long and detailed touristic guides, my reckoning is that they were not just looking for more written information. A couple I interviewed in Herculaneum explicitly said that they don’t like (and didn’t expect) informative panels because they spoil the archaeological landscape. Moreover, I would add that it is very difficult to deal with all the languages spoken by tourists in Pompeii (or even just with the 2 or 3 most common ones). </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">One of the most frequent complains I have heard was the difficulty in perceiving the Pompeian dwellings as places that used to be “lived”. All the visitors I have interviewed were, to a certain extent, looking for a sort of emotional experience. But, for a tourist (even a motivated one) it is hard to understand how spaces were used in the past. This seems to provoke a certain level of frustration. Tourists would have liked to see objects (even reproductions) and furnitures in the houses. Some of the interviewed people have even asked me to explain why none of the objects have been left in place. When I told them that original artefacts would be damaged or nicked if left in place, they asked why not even reproductions are now available.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The truth is that is not easy. Pompeii is a large and complex site, very difficult to manage. Every choice seems to make someone unhappy and finding a balance between authenticity and communication is a real challenge.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">My intention is not to criticise the policies of the site management, but to report what I have heard from tourists. One of them, for example, suggested that at least one exemplar house should be restored and refurbished to show how they used to be.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">One of the most precious information for my research is that, apparently, what tourists miss is both cognitive and emotional. They would like to know more, to understand more. At the same time, they want to “feel” that they are walking the streets of what used to be a city with passers by, sellers, customers, children, animals etc... This is probably why they feel that a book or a panel would not be enough. Objects, on the other hand, appear to have a strong emotional and communicative value. From these first results, it seems that is through objects that the connection with the past works better. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Probably looking at objects, tourists can imagine ancient inhabitants of the city using them in their everyday life. Or, more simply, the presence of objects is what identifies a space as a domestic space (or a</span> ritual one or a commercial one and so on but always as a "human" space).</div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-57791840348147946362012-12-06T12:07:00.002+00:002012-12-07T01:33:38.035+00:00"Pompeii in Fact and Fiction": places as ideas<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzkXi1DfpMdzc87CxTqP-Nqqe6GcacfuZSeEhywepXihjbdoXQfSyopYpywVCjlz8kXhI1Pc3QDw85KAYMWo2OiAGl0G7Kd-Np-6VcD4HO38Mg1qdzEJnFGpL-fPQcOv5oJk9AnPK_QFh/s1600/220px-Johann_Joachim_Winckelmann_%2528Anton_von_Maron_1768%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzkXi1DfpMdzc87CxTqP-Nqqe6GcacfuZSeEhywepXihjbdoXQfSyopYpywVCjlz8kXhI1Pc3QDw85KAYMWo2OiAGl0G7Kd-Np-6VcD4HO38Mg1qdzEJnFGpL-fPQcOv5oJk9AnPK_QFh/s320/220px-Johann_Joachim_Winckelmann_%2528Anton_von_Maron_1768%2529.jpeg" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portrait of Winckelmann by A. von Maron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I found <i><a href="http://openlibrary.org/books/OL15511747M/Pompeii_in_fact_and_fiction.">Pompeii in Fact and Fiction</a></i> by Wolfgang Leppman when I was working on my MA dissertation (the digital unification of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii and the related frescoes). It has proven to be useful and interesting for many reasons.<br />
In the first place it states, already in 1968, that Pompeii is, at the same time, a geographical place, an historical site and the sum of many interpretations. So much so, that it is often impossible to say when one ends and another begins. If this can be considered problematic by many hard archaeologists, it is to me one of the (many) reasons that make Pompeii a unique place and the ideal candidate for digital projects aiming to deliver complex (i.e. multilayered) information.<br />
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The book shows chronologically how tourist’s expectations have been changing during the years. Summarising roughly, he identifies at least three major trends. </span><br />
<span class="s1">According to Leppmann, during Neoclassicism tourists expected to see in Pompeii magnificent relics, consistent with the idealisation of the Roman period they had developed during their reverential study of the Classics. It is easy to imagine how disappointed they were when they saw small dwellings or little, asymmetrical temples as the Temple of Isis. This impression was amplified by the absence of most of the large Pompeian villas (still to be uncovered). As Leppamnn remarks, words like “smallness” “narrow” “doll’s house” “mummified” appear often in the first reports.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, Pompeii (and Herculaneum even more) provoked the enthusiasm of all the art lovers, and influenced a whole trend of figurative art, fashion and interior design.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAYt2mrpksRCXSSkVZq-WcboqAl-3aRQ37F4j4vQUAyU9s0nPA1rACbQ2PnukuqfdEJzHFNymTMMb0exJp2nnHQ-rE98JsY7MHA_FKrN7FJqwvOsKlG9Tde7nFIaW_7AkmdUJ3tCcY-Pf/s1600/madame_de_stael_as_corrine_.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAYt2mrpksRCXSSkVZq-WcboqAl-3aRQ37F4j4vQUAyU9s0nPA1rACbQ2PnukuqfdEJzHFNymTMMb0exJp2nnHQ-rE98JsY7MHA_FKrN7FJqwvOsKlG9Tde7nFIaW_7AkmdUJ3tCcY-Pf/s320/madame_de_stael_as_corrine_.png" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madame de Stael as Corinne,<br />
by F.P. Gerard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1">There is a big change in tourists’ attitude and expectations during the Romanticism. Leppmann identifies the turning point in the publication of the Madame de Stael’s novel “Corinne”. It is probably just a convention and, apparently, the novel itself is more relevant to reception’s studies than to literary ones. However, this is the first famous work of art in which Pompeii is not used as a subject for scholarly descriptions and investigations but as a set for a love story. What is even more important and innovative is that the informative value of the site is definitely less important, in the eyes of the characters (and of the author’s, I assume), than the indefinable emotional connection with the past that they feel there. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The Neoclassical attempts to visualise how the place might have looked like, are not part of de Stael sensibility (that Leppmann uses as an indicator of the whole Romantic sensibility). The charm of Pompeii is in its being a ruin, a sad relic of a faded past. Tourists go there not to learn about ancient lives but to be touched by their memories and to reflect (very Romanticly) upon caducity of life. This is also why isolated and marginal places (even better with a good view on the terrible Vesuvius) are preferred to functional places like the forum or the basilica. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Later on, always according to Leppmann, Pompei becomes more and more a literary place, a sort of flexible narrative space that only partially coincides with the physical one. Many novels tell stories about Pompeian ancient inhabitants (living or ghosts) and Pompeii consolidates its place in social imaginary. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFODJax8GhZG_rXCJeG8ekh4YCKzIEg9En5dgW5CwtqUmF788DuI2t1ho-8Hk14w5b4TeuP7fi_rouxLX8Ae-EyhtuVXzesDMF_gubiWWHoz_WIEaSekUuymjsw9HJ350gR7jHk2qVR1I/s1600/viaggio_in_italia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFODJax8GhZG_rXCJeG8ekh4YCKzIEg9En5dgW5CwtqUmF788DuI2t1ho-8Hk14w5b4TeuP7fi_rouxLX8Ae-EyhtuVXzesDMF_gubiWWHoz_WIEaSekUuymjsw9HJ350gR7jHk2qVR1I/s320/viaggio_in_italia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from the movie<br />
"Viaggio in Italia" by R. Rossellini</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Plus, in the growing trend of oneiric, symbolic and even psychoanalytic novels and short stories, Pompeii became something like an emotions trigger. Its strong and almost violent connection with love, death and sex provokes in the characters intimate experiences, so much intense that sometimes they are simply unbearable.</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
What is Pompeii today? A source of information to understand ancient art and history? A place where it is possible to experience an emotional connection with past lives? An almost archetypical element of the social subconscious? The crossing point of hundreds of stories?<span class="s1"></span><br />
All of the above and even something new?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It is practically possible to put all this information together and display it in a meaningful way?</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-49601564824455978462012-11-28T13:03:00.002+00:002012-11-28T13:03:48.715+00:00First impressions: ROOM 13
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98wbeaD2f68wDxhh1-IXZQ8BzXl_VMlHdtdZ9_G4B8D40O9jpEzhwmtNttps9pZUMmPU-1nH9CfAOUy-IGgVSzw9cEBvC7aO1Xy1Z8wDev9sZf16FoBjS4WJREn_lG5j8Gy3JGBlPugce/s1600/room13_roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98wbeaD2f68wDxhh1-IXZQ8BzXl_VMlHdtdZ9_G4B8D40O9jpEzhwmtNttps9pZUMmPU-1nH9CfAOUy-IGgVSzw9cEBvC7aO1Xy1Z8wDev9sZf16FoBjS4WJREn_lG5j8Gy3JGBlPugce/s200/room13_roof.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, room13's roof<br />Photo by V. Vitale, 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This little room has an access on space 16 and a large window on the garden. The room is very well preserved. The delicate decoration on the yellow and black background are still visible and the colours very bright. It is a shame that the room is now used as storage area. The plastic boxes where some finds are kept lean a bit carelessly against the frescoed wall. Moreover, these boxes are likely to become (if not already) the refuge of little animals (with all the unpleasant consequences).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This room was probably a bedroom, with a nice view on the garden (but not on the fresco, obviously).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The remains of a little roof above the window seems to be original. On the windowsill is displayed a stone ball. I do not know if it is ancient (maybe a relic of the Sulla’s civil war?) and if it has been actually found in the house.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The room is covered by a wooden roof reconstructed for display purposes. This choice might have positively contributed to the good status of the frescoes. I assume that the modern roof has been built according to the evidence of the ancient one. Even though the restoration can be considered a bit too invasive, I think it can prove its usefulness. According to the tourist I have interviewed and the literature about Pompeii, the absence of the roofs is one of the elements that make difficult (especially for a tourist) to see the Pompeian ruins as actual houses. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmSBqDBJaO71qJmeZcMZ1k9STKDhZWQ2LxWT3KlXgIwMIEu2adSsN2RSrUjFocv7D9NlPKQF51WAkHUPJEGnG03UsVlYDcacUtOZzHG3l6pB97qpHU8bkRYWEANUJ5UOa_MEYxR71B-UZ/s1600/room13_threshold%2526floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmSBqDBJaO71qJmeZcMZ1k9STKDhZWQ2LxWT3KlXgIwMIEu2adSsN2RSrUjFocv7D9NlPKQF51WAkHUPJEGnG03UsVlYDcacUtOZzHG3l6pB97qpHU8bkRYWEANUJ5UOa_MEYxR71B-UZ/s200/room13_threshold%2526floor.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, threshold and floor<br />Photo by V. Vitale, 2012</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">Under this respect the site of Pompeii is quite different from the one in Herculaneum where roofs, doors and windows (often heavily restored) communicate the sense of domestic spaces that used to be lived by people.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The floor of this room shows a nice and well preserved mosaic in opus signinum and white tesserae. The geometric pattern can still be admired, but it has also been documented by Presuhn (who also published a copy of the room wall decorations).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The room has both a marble threshold that suggest the presence of a wooden door and a quite large window (for such a small room) with a pleasant view on the garden.</span></div>
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It is curious that the restored roof covers not only this room in the house of Orpheus but also the contiguous room that belongs to the House of the Scientists. Actually, this external room also shares an other wall with the House of Orpheus, exactly half of the renowned frescoed one. Does it mean that the two Houses used to be arranged differently? May have they been rearranged after the earthquake?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbeR6AlgT59ggf0Oai_8gboEsyE6vAPfKqwb1jpOnxRtDyFjTuUhyphenhyphencq2vWRkKGY2sAgyElPvOaftMQSFfLsk7yZ63QP9ZxTSUCxhEV2-LNJ66ig8XXmWuMuCZ872rVlJcHL2awKKZ3kky/s1600/orpheus&scientists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbeR6AlgT59ggf0Oai_8gboEsyE6vAPfKqwb1jpOnxRtDyFjTuUhyphenhyphencq2vWRkKGY2sAgyElPvOaftMQSFfLsk7yZ63QP9ZxTSUCxhEV2-LNJ66ig8XXmWuMuCZ872rVlJcHL2awKKZ3kky/s320/orpheus&scientists.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presuhn's plan. The area in yellow highlights the<br />relationship between the House of Orpheus and<br />the House of the Scientists</td></tr>
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Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-46991698069007587182012-11-27T17:07:00.004+00:002012-11-27T17:07:33.660+00:00First impressions: ROOM 18 (viridarium)
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dPAdjMsFXHkRZA6A6BRwaK_tpFi8YD8MVhJbJkcTPE5umTrezdFPrwUbe7GljC1wMFu1tSfOfFT8vG94P4vqn9nBCkZ5_vC1G3dZ7c-Ieu4rDz4-q2eJDbLN6QcRbWl6IkKe9utt2NRu/s1600/room18-colonnade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dPAdjMsFXHkRZA6A6BRwaK_tpFi8YD8MVhJbJkcTPE5umTrezdFPrwUbe7GljC1wMFu1tSfOfFT8vG94P4vqn9nBCkZ5_vC1G3dZ7c-Ieu4rDz4-q2eJDbLN6QcRbWl6IkKe9utt2NRu/s200/room18-colonnade.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, Pompeii<br />Looking north from the viridarium<br />Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Unlike other houses in Pompeii, the House of Orpheus has an almost proper perystilium. It was quite common (at least in Pompeii) pretending to have a big and expensive house arranging carefully the elements that people were able to see from the street or from the tablinum. It is not rare in Pompeii to see houses with just two or three columns, but placed in a way to trick the passers by and let them believe that they were looking at an entire colonnade.</span></div>
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It is not the case of the Houseof Orpheus. The owner was rich enough to afford two whole sides of a perystilium. The half colonnade is large enough (7 columns on two sides) to allow visual access to the garden from both the tablinum and the triclinium (that are on the same vertical line). Both the two spaces offer a view on the house’s most precious decoration (straight view from the tablinum, diagonal view from the triclinium).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqX__N8zm7MSJPd6ZDqQalNKsuKEiU3QsahzgWRmeyWOKgRFMqJgsFgz_o9nSUgXkwRFCt2_dK1LtCe1rjYvj9Tnzl4PNtbQ4ZEUjBFVs52W-M69n1gmXTHS9F2IDZV8WHIXrG5bGtVWt/s1600/image013.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqX__N8zm7MSJPd6ZDqQalNKsuKEiU3QsahzgWRmeyWOKgRFMqJgsFgz_o9nSUgXkwRFCt2_dK1LtCe1rjYvj9Tnzl4PNtbQ4ZEUjBFVs52W-M69n1gmXTHS9F2IDZV8WHIXrG5bGtVWt/s200/image013.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus<br />Old undated photograph. Courtesy of Society<br /> of Antiquaries. Fox Collection<br />From <a href="http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/r6/6%2014%2020%20p8.htm">pompeiiinpictures</a><br /></td></tr>
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The slightly diagonal arrangement of the entrance corridor may seem an oddity until it is not considered as an element of the visual line that passes through the atrium (with the fountain), through the tablinum, the viridarium and ends on the big frescoed wall. The fresco’s decoration with plant, birds and animals was very likely to interact graciously with the real plants (and probably real animals like little birds or butterflies) of the garden. Moreover, the painted water in the landscape was probably interacting, on a echoing game of real and fictional, with the water sprouting from the fountain. </div>
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Today, the trees and the plants (mostly myrtle) grown in the garden make quite difficult to see clearly the architectonical elements in the garden. It seems to be a water feature in opus signinum running around the edge of the viridarium. </div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-72110922406233742372012-11-22T17:22:00.005+00:002012-11-22T17:27:54.456+00:00First impressions: ROOM 10 (+ 5 and 11)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJayJtzdbLKe62K3vMpdIKau6czJPzdbp15smXm9uue32BGbhyphenhyphenQvcKsTrdXFauFYDJN4tH3_mdpS-K_GK7Xub5D6XH_M9XdGLd5L9Who-dpV0Yftjpntzbu-ggaQrMY5zuvpe-G_ObcGsP/s1600/image014.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJayJtzdbLKe62K3vMpdIKau6czJPzdbp15smXm9uue32BGbhyphenhyphenQvcKsTrdXFauFYDJN4tH3_mdpS-K_GK7Xub5D6XH_M9XdGLd5L9Who-dpV0Yftjpntzbu-ggaQrMY5zuvpe-G_ObcGsP/s320/image014.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, looking west from room 10<br />
Photo courtesy of <a href="http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/r6/6%2014%2020%20p5.htm">Pompeiiinpictures</a></td></tr>
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This room is very likely to be the triclinium of the house. There are no signs of the three couches that identify that kind of spaces. However, the room has a privileged view on the relatively large garden and colonnade. According to Pompeian conventions, the triclinium was usually arranged to offer the best view that the house could offer. Looking at the plan, the room could appear to be not centred with the garden.<br />
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1">However, we should bare in mind that the best view was a privilege of the main guest. Thus, the best view had to be maximised for the pleasure of the eyes of the main guest. Conventionally, the most important guest seated at the right edge of the central couch. From that position the view falls nicely on the main focus of the front fresco: the scene with Orpheus and the animals.</span></div>
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The room has an elegant marble threshold that still shows the sign of a big door.</div>
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<span class="s1">In this room are also still visible traces of the wall frescoes. The remains of the vivid colours allow to rebuild, partially, the decorative pattern of the fresco. (Preshun suggests a virtual restoration, but I have no means to assess his reliability). The lower part of the fresco still shows the main lines of delicate figures of birds (Phoenixes?) and plants.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNbXpIVuomP6AeIgT4rB2IF2_G4sKkpWltFLGu_UJ1Mbr_LV9Cn5cziuauuJJ0Ac1YLsOqz1AEAodhJkyAV-QksmU2okShnenlgM5YcI5X6M5CD_XSFJ2h_O-VPuGr0UmomBWREO8PzH3/s1600/room10-detail1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNbXpIVuomP6AeIgT4rB2IF2_G4sKkpWltFLGu_UJ1Mbr_LV9Cn5cziuauuJJ0Ac1YLsOqz1AEAodhJkyAV-QksmU2okShnenlgM5YcI5X6M5CD_XSFJ2h_O-VPuGr0UmomBWREO8PzH3/s320/room10-detail1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, room 10 detail<br />
Photo by V. Vitale, 2012</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeAqbhCnjp5z5girb8FggiTuiPEymOeUqnlHdFy2Eh3YP1NsCSfVmv1OHVHwQIFbJmE_Wd9qklfc-aFThf__iauIhhyphenhyphenZ_FddKpm2mz-cH6-POLyQAP6VqwBbzfpZfXGptA3gqT9HqfhFN/s1600/room10-detail2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeAqbhCnjp5z5girb8FggiTuiPEymOeUqnlHdFy2Eh3YP1NsCSfVmv1OHVHwQIFbJmE_Wd9qklfc-aFThf__iauIhhyphenhyphenZ_FddKpm2mz-cH6-POLyQAP6VqwBbzfpZfXGptA3gqT9HqfhFN/s320/room10-detail2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, room 10 detail<br />
Photo by V. Vitale, 2012</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
Rooms 5 and 11 are other two very narrow passages, running at the sides of room 10, which is identifiable as the triclinium. At least one of them, if not both, might have been passages for slaves in charge of serving meals to their masters. Passage 5 is connected with both room 10, the atrium (room 1) and the perystilium.</div>
<br />Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-56886423683035086242012-11-22T15:35:00.005+00:002012-11-22T17:28:30.360+00:00First impressions: ROOM 4 (tablinum)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLs-e1V8gnjnOgPEcBAKfMDxh3iX9M-IMFE_9nW7IcLVXCoIWBupQbqJVo9swoFPdXaGf3rgwY72aPIWYyJ3vtxUCBlWWcg2xFPfA3JqvM181QI9R3Dm2X9uTPs9b0ORM_6DroMn0LCeJd/s1600/treshold_mosaic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLs-e1V8gnjnOgPEcBAKfMDxh3iX9M-IMFE_9nW7IcLVXCoIWBupQbqJVo9swoFPdXaGf3rgwY72aPIWYyJ3vtxUCBlWWcg2xFPfA3JqvM181QI9R3Dm2X9uTPs9b0ORM_6DroMn0LCeJd/s200/treshold_mosaic.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus,<br />
threshold of room 4 (from atrium)<br />
Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The large and elegant tablinum could be accessed from the atrium (by guestes and clients) and seen from the street (by passers by and neighbours).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The floor was decorated with a black and white mosaic. Unfortunately, it is not entirely visible anymore, so we do not know if there were more elaborate decorations in the middle of it. What can still be seen is the white background and a black double border.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Moreover, the mosaic clearly marks the change of use in the space. Even though there are no (more?) physical doors, a decorated threshold with a geometric pattern (always in b&w) identifies the passage from the atrium to the tablinum. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvr95hzd-IjKQMjCHpggPbdZstJ39JHH1_MKYFGGy0DVL-tQT-cA-lGB3aqGDY3oib0_SKNxQkGUFTB8x6JbhrlaNHVTKBYAqfNTQY5bhnTYWd1H6DRF1nFA5acwdN2a_UxikWOlhjOpV/s1600/alignment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvr95hzd-IjKQMjCHpggPbdZstJ39JHH1_MKYFGGy0DVL-tQT-cA-lGB3aqGDY3oib0_SKNxQkGUFTB8x6JbhrlaNHVTKBYAqfNTQY5bhnTYWd1H6DRF1nFA5acwdN2a_UxikWOlhjOpV/s200/alignment.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, plan by E. Presuhn<br />
Representation of the view alignement</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">A similar feature, but with a different pattern, marks the end of the tablinum and the beginning of the garden. The garden itself appears to be not only an autonomous part of the house but also a scenographic background for the tablinum.</span></div>
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According to the conventional disposition of the rooms, the richest and most impressive features were always the most visible for an external (and even and accidental) observer. </div>
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This explains why the tablinum is not at the centre of the house, but it is visually aligned with the main entrance. The alignment can be more clearly seen on the plan published by Presuhn.</div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-69176278253435543572012-11-22T15:05:00.001+00:002012-11-22T15:07:03.215+00:00First impressions: ROOM 6<br />
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<span class="s1">Room 6 is a relatively large room. Like room 3, it has three walls and there is no sign of a shutting door on the fourth one. The floor, that is unfortunately visible only in very small and damage bits almost entirely covered in dirt and pebbles, is very similar to the one in room 3. The similar decoration (cocciopesto with a white pattern) could point at a visual and structural relationship with room 3. However, the two spaces are not geometrically identical (or even remarkably similar). </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Q3aijeq9bAEYV8XLEgkYGLariMU8bsR1qK4E0G5dHXeabKp_xkgQbKDunTUI3Ps-j-3HD5GLMjWlenwSG2BgMW9w6ZhNs-jWA-Z9LyuNpU3M1-YlTij3TzwsPggmp0Z9y2bXuJcB8ghV/s1600/room6-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Q3aijeq9bAEYV8XLEgkYGLariMU8bsR1qK4E0G5dHXeabKp_xkgQbKDunTUI3Ps-j-3HD5GLMjWlenwSG2BgMW9w6ZhNs-jWA-Z9LyuNpU3M1-YlTij3TzwsPggmp0Z9y2bXuJcB8ghV/s320/room6-view.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 19px;">House of Orpheus, looking south from room 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 19px;">Photo by V. Vitale, 2012</span></td></tr>
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<span class="s1">On the contrary, room 6 shows quite a peculiar feature that I was not able to identify and that occupies almost half of the space. A ridge (high roughly 20 cm) goes along the room’s three walls and an additional feature (same hight of the ridge) closes the rectangular shape on the fourth side. </span></div>
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To me, it looks to big to be a bed and too small to be a triclinium (moreover, room 10 with its view on the garden is much more likely to have been the triclinium). The potential view from the unidentified feature in room 6 is not particularly interesting. It includes part of the fountain, but without its visual interaction with the garden and the colonnade. It makes me think that it was more likely to be something to be seen than an observing point of view.</div>
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<span class="s1">I have been suggested that it could even been a water feature, but I couldn’t find any actual evidence to support that idea.</span></div>
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In both the maps I have found, the feature is recorded and appears to be evenly vertically divided. However, that division is now no more visible on site. At least not to my archaeological-untrained eye.</div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-55482061235281532422012-11-22T14:25:00.002+00:002012-11-22T14:25:33.886+00:00First impressions: ROOM 3<br />
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<span class="s1">On the south side of the atrium, going towards the tablinum, there is room 3. I couldn’t find any sign of the existence of a door (pivots etc...) but, of course, it does not mean that there wasn’t any.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Some bits of the floor made in opus signinum (or cocciopesto) are still visible and they show traces of a nice decorative pattern of white tesserae. There are no windows at all, but the room is open on the atrium. So far, I have no hypotheses about the use of this space. It looks like it is facing a similar one on the other side of the atrium (room 6). Is it possible that the two rooms were functionally or visually related?</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-18888039152933706362012-11-22T13:56:00.001+00:002012-11-22T13:57:04.428+00:00First impressions: ROOM 1 (atrium)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEooSlUcWou8AqvOv9aCL1tPQJnF8NrRQuOqA96y_X77QtBSnFvKOyHZMD5ZBHb-iqlJswV6h9lnDPeguq1VWw6der9W_zCKSm56CyJkQ42eatSeRz9Y_DjIDZREJiVNhgGi-ay7XtZJU/s1600/room1_southwall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEooSlUcWou8AqvOv9aCL1tPQJnF8NrRQuOqA96y_X77QtBSnFvKOyHZMD5ZBHb-iqlJswV6h9lnDPeguq1VWw6der9W_zCKSm56CyJkQ42eatSeRz9Y_DjIDZREJiVNhgGi-ay7XtZJU/s320/room1_southwall.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, south wall of the atrium<br />
Photo by V. Vitale 2012</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Room one is the big atrium. It gives light to the many rooms around it that often have no windows at all. Its doors appear to be quite tall. They are not very wide (about 115-118 cm) but, in my opinion, they give a sense of elegance end elevation to the all building.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The door on the south side of the atrium appears to be perfectly symmetrical with the door on the north side (entrance to room 7). Moreover it points out the relationship between the House of Orpheus and the little commercial-industrial complex confining with it (VI, 14, 18 and VI, 14, 19). Despite the fact that the relationship between the two spaces looks fairly evident, I haven’t found so far any explicit mention to that in the literature. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Unlike many other rich houses in Pompeii, the House of Orpheus has no business area in the traditional sense. It looks as if the owner didn’t want to show any explicit connection with the business. On the other hand, the big door leans directly to the commercial area, and part of the house was visible (with the doors open) from the little commercial/industrial complex. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The high door on the south side of room 1 also suggests the existence of a second door, symmetrical to the other door on the north side of the atrium (entrance to room 8). The former is no more open, but it is easy to see where it used to be. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">So far, I have no means to say if it has been closed before or after the excavation.</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-76262921812318359882012-11-22T11:57:00.001+00:002012-11-22T11:57:34.255+00:00First impressions: ROOM 0 (entrance)
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The house of Orpheus is presently closed to the public, probably because of the fragility of the surviving frescoes (progressively detaching from the masonry, possibly due to humidity and infiltrations).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6XTMgU6yt3tOm4myS1n06Kh6NHYmDyA0mVlE2Y74A9yF5mxByx7u8-Fzw3KPVeQ-7Bb5nVlhAHPaGe2pgx8KnS8_MdbszmiHut7i-BF3A3IMEEUPGy_Wox11XxbGcL7vqk29mLGLqR_K/s1600/PDC-F-000004-0000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6XTMgU6yt3tOm4myS1n06Kh6NHYmDyA0mVlE2Y74A9yF5mxByx7u8-Fzw3KPVeQ-7Bb5nVlhAHPaGe2pgx8KnS8_MdbszmiHut7i-BF3A3IMEEUPGy_Wox11XxbGcL7vqk29mLGLqR_K/s320/PDC-F-000004-0000.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Orpheus, looking west from the entrance<br />Photo by M. Amodio, 1850-60. <a href="http://shop.alinari.it/en/product-details-121888">Fratelli Alinari Collection</a></td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The house is not huge but still quite big, definitely above the average of a Pompeian dwelling. It is not situated in the very centre of the city but it is still close enough to the latter to be considered the residence of a quite rich family.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It has a relatively wide entrance with a pronounced slope, going up. This is the place where the Mosaic of the Guard Dog used to be.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It was probably the first thing that visitors and passers by were supposed to see. But I will write more about the mosaic and its context later.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The entrance’s corridor is not straight. This is not strange in Pompeian houses and could be a strategy for the architect to lead the gaze of the observer towards the most important features of the house and to highlight their best qualities.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">From the street, the view included the mosaic and, going up, the beautiful and very well preserved impluvium: white marble, a nice ridge, many details, a central hole that suggests a fountain, a marble pedestal that could have held a decorative element or an other water feature (possibly both). Behind the pedestal, there is what looks like a well, also made of elegant white marble</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">At the back of the water feature, the gaze falls on the large tablinum and the garden. Nicely framed by the entrance to the garden, it is possible to see the famous fresco with Orpheus and the animals. Probably, more than the mythological scene, the observer from the street was invited to look at a combination of real and painted natural elements: plants, birds and the water sources. The decorative element that might have been placed on the pedestal could have been another element of this part real and part illusional scenography.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">According to my perception, the architectonical structure looks very harmonic and well balanced.</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-3565361678214746922012-11-20T16:34:00.002+00:002012-11-20T16:34:54.972+00:00Tools
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I have taken a first photographic documentation of the site with a small compact camera (Casio 10 Mpx). The quality of the outcome is not refined enough to be used as a source for the model’s texturing. Moreover, the camera only produces valuable pictures when the light conditions are very good. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, I am not interested in modelling and texturising the House of Orpheus how it is now (it could be relevant, for example, for conservation purposes). I am more interested in observing the architectonic features and try to understand why the different spaces of the house were organised in a certain way and what possible uses they might have allowed. Thus, my photographs have more a documenting purpose, to help me remember and visualise the characteristics of the different spaces of the house.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">If I will need more detailed pictures in a future development of my project I will use a more suitable equipment.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmGXzR0H62Yie-J_tRAbGgfxDflgsw-SZKLWAKSjyAbE_tyTJKu5P-4zzQtmcwno4AjKTrMvbwE9xVyIhi-CeW4cj6_gTM8z3K3dh97CUY8v-4mnUWbZ_6Pc7gSJMGBSDOnWKLn4O-yJ2/s1600/6%252014%252020%2520plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmGXzR0H62Yie-J_tRAbGgfxDflgsw-SZKLWAKSjyAbE_tyTJKu5P-4zzQtmcwno4AjKTrMvbwE9xVyIhi-CeW4cj6_gTM8z3K3dh97CUY8v-4mnUWbZ_6Pc7gSJMGBSDOnWKLn4O-yJ2/s320/6%252014%252020%2520plan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plan of the House of Orpheus<br />Courtesy of Pompeiiinpictures</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Ob7hTiKCgRKcKkmt240e5zZ1eAfYXxxjotRqpmLNLFElkcbawQQUShNfSBtUHJBLbakIp5wyHwe_496Q98GEqchvNTAziGgQQDpPU3RuAOO2OUlkQRWkjwSQ6SaAXDheCOZ16rcQuDZb/s1600/orpheus_plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Ob7hTiKCgRKcKkmt240e5zZ1eAfYXxxjotRqpmLNLFElkcbawQQUShNfSBtUHJBLbakIp5wyHwe_496Q98GEqchvNTAziGgQQDpPU3RuAOO2OUlkQRWkjwSQ6SaAXDheCOZ16rcQuDZb/s320/orpheus_plan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plan of the House of Orpheus<br />Emil Preshun</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
To organise and catalogue my pictures I have used, as a starting point, the numerical naming convention I have found in the map of the house available on the website <a href="http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/r6/6%2014%2020%20plan.htm">pompeiinpictures</a>.</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">As the website states, the map is only a reference to browse the pictures of the online collection. For this reason the map shows few inaccuracies (many rooms have “regularised” shapes, some features are omitted etc...). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">After I had already started my cataloguing, I have found a more detailed plan, published by Emil Preshun in <i>Pompeji. Die Neuesten Ausgrabungen</i> (available on <a href="http://archive.org/stream/pompejidieneuest00pres#page/n6/mode/1up">openlibrary.org</a>).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, having measured the house on site with an electronic distance measurer (<a href="http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=DLR130K">Bosh DLR130</a>) I am thinking of designing a new plan with Adobe Illustrator or, as my supervisor suggested, directly with 3D Studio Max.</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-9498022761656364462012-11-19T15:17:00.003+00:002012-12-10T22:41:01.127+00:00Orpheus and the Dog<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNh4b3CJ0zIwnwgPY5V4Piq-lucJs033ztvGfBiiYlYxu-FKM1iOnYnozbq64X4PrLQ0Fh2oWPkjSy1YRIkYN3WJXmn5cKHTp23N0wWgnBiH1kfVqpvgpaoGIcBP4cLIl4BaVzYZ-5qTJ/s1600/mosaic_guard_dog_304.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNh4b3CJ0zIwnwgPY5V4Piq-lucJs033ztvGfBiiYlYxu-FKM1iOnYnozbq64X4PrLQ0Fh2oWPkjSy1YRIkYN3WJXmn5cKHTp23N0wWgnBiH1kfVqpvgpaoGIcBP4cLIl4BaVzYZ-5qTJ/s1600/mosaic_guard_dog_304.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic of the Guard Dog. <br />
Pompeii, House of Orpheus VI, 14, 20<br />
<a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/pompeii_and_herculaneum/highlight_objects.aspx#7">From British Museum website</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">My first idea was to choose the object and the related building to model and unify according to the results of my preliminary interviews. However, being the BM exhibition forthcoming, I could not ask the visitors (or potential visitors) which ones were the most relevant artefacts on display.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I have decided to start from the items highlight on the museum website and, among them, I have focused on the “Mosaic of a Guard Dog” from the House of Vesonius Primus (also known as The House of Orpheus).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">My choice was based on the following criteria:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">- I have a better knowledge of the Pompeian cityscape than the Herculaneum one. Having a limited time to complete my project, I thought it was more sensible and effective to maximise my previous experiences,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">- I wanted to take hard measurements of the chosen building and it was easier for me to receive a permission for Pompeii,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">- The artefacts that will be displayed are not yet in the British Museum. It was unlikely to receive special permission from the other Museums to acquire data about the items exhibited in glass cabinets, so I decided to focus on the flat ones that are easy to photograph and document even without special permissions.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">- The image of the black dog is one of the most famous and it has been reproduced in many books, guides and memorabilia.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The characteristics of the Mosaic of the Dog and the House of Orpheus made them the most sensible choice. Furthermore, an other very iconic Pompeian object that will be part of the BM exhibition such as the plaster cast of the agonising dog comes from the same House. Even though it wasn’t possible for me to acquire data about the cast of the unlucky animal, its story can be easily connected to the virtual model.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, I am not forgetting user’s needs and expectations. I have started conducting unstructured interviews with visitors:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">of the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">of the National Museum of Naples</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">of the Virtual Museum of Herculaneum (MAV)</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">in order to gather the first information about what different audiences think of the ancient remains and what kind of experience, real and virtual, they expect during the visit.</span></div>
Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185134071247939558.post-1956339684058837202012-10-24T12:12:00.001+01:002012-10-24T12:12:45.307+01:00Old Summer Palace in BeijinFascinating Chinese <a href="http://ntdtv.org/en/news/china/2012-10-23/virtual-technology-restores-palace-in-beijing.html">virtual restoration project!</a><br />
But there is any documentation available?<br />
<br />
<br />Valeria Vitalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07575266222361802997noreply@blogger.com0