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View: In gallery, raking light
Fresco panel
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 14–62
Findspot: Italy, Campania, near Pompeii, Villa of the Contrada Bottaro
Medium/Technique
Fresco
Dimensions
Height: 1.962 m. width: 1.842 m.
Credit Line
Ellen Frances Mason Fund
Accession Number33.502
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsPaintings
DescriptionThis fresco, from room off the peristyle of a house south of Pompeii, on the ancient shore of Gulf of Naples, shows a red ground upon which elaborate, semicircular architectural designs of fantastic character have been depicted in yellow, creamy white, and light blue. There are two tiers of Ionic architecture. The upper ornamental band has confronted lion-griffins, and the vignette at the center of the lower central field has been removed.
Provenance1901/1902, excavated by Gennaro Matrone (d. 1927) in the peristyle of the Contrada Bottaro Villa, about a half-mile south of Pompeii; ownership granted by the Italian State to Gennaro Matrone. Between October 1925 and March 1926, sold by Prof. U. Marcellini (dealer), Naples, to Brummer Gallery, New York (stock no. P2577); May 25, 1927, sold by Brummer to William Randolph Hearst (b. 1863 – d. 1951), New York; December 30, 1929, returned by Hearst to Brummer Gallery; 1933, sold by Brummer Gallery to the MFA for $15,115 [see note]. (Accession Date: June 1, 1933)
NOTE: Eleven frescoes (MFA accession nos. 33.496 – 33.506) were purchased by the MFA for this amount. They were part of a lot of 53 frescoes that had been acquired by Brummer Gallery, sold en bloc to Hearst, and were returned before being sold to the MFA.
NOTE: Eleven frescoes (MFA accession nos. 33.496 – 33.506) were purchased by the MFA for this amount. They were part of a lot of 53 frescoes that had been acquired by Brummer Gallery, sold en bloc to Hearst, and were returned before being sold to the MFA.