Naples Archaeological Museum: Pompei Mosaics And Other Items

The Naples Archaeological Museum's Pompei collections are divided into several sections: mosaics, the "secret chamber" (porno stuff, at least in the eyes of the 18th and 19th century princes, dukes, kings, cardinals, et al.), the Villa of the Papyri, and the frescoes. The frescoes, we thought, are by far the best, porn notwithstanding, and so I will leave them for the next post.

First century Roman mosaic: Durer would have been proud...

Vicki is buying me one of those double-flutes for Xmas

The Faun, the real one, from the House of the Faun

The real Alexander mosaic, from the House of the Faun; Darius' troops already 
are beginning to flee...

One of many portraits in mosaic

Captain's Plate; micro mosaic: sometimes you have to stand right next to these 
things to see that they are mosaics and not oil paintings

The secret chamber has a number of fairly explicit sculptures, mosaics, frescoes, 
and other things, porn, at least by 19th century standards; we thought the phallic 
wind-chimes were the only thing of great interest; classical attitudes about sex

were a bit different from today's; in Roman times and places the phallus was a 
symbol of good luck and prosperity, seen everywhere; alas, none were for sale i
n the trinket shoppes outside the museum

Glass from the huge "everyday objects" collection from Pompei; there were 
also plumbing and illumination and kitchen displays, among many others, 
almost like Home Depot

In the Villa of the Papyrus section; so-named because some 
1,000 carbonized papyrii were found there; many have been 
unrolled and translated, but, alas, rather than a general

library of the classical world, they are merely the works of 
obscure Epicurean philosophers



Bronze athletes from the Villa of Papyri

One of the athletes; bronze Roman copies of Greek originals

Face of one of several bronze dancers

Me, in bronze; I swear I was only drinking tonic water