Fig. 140.—Border of mosaic with tragic masks, fruits, flowers, and garlands, at the inner end of the fauces.

The walls of the fauces are ornamented in an unusual manner. The ordinary decoration of the first style is carried to the height of eight feet. Above this on either side projects a tufa shelf about sixteen inches wide, on which is placed the façade of a diminutive temple; that on the left is seen in [Fig. 141]. The front of the cella, with closed doors, is presented in relief, but the four columns of the portico stand free. The shelf is supported underneath by a cornice which rested originally on stucco brackets in the shape of dogs; the underside is carved to represent a richly ornamented coffered ceiling.

The atrium was a room of imposing dimensions. The length is approximately 53 feet, the breadth 33; the height, as indicated by the remains of the walls and the pilasters, was certainly not less than 28 feet. Above was a coffered ceiling. The sombre shade of the floor, paved with small pieces of dark slate, formed an effective contrast with the white limestone edge and brilliant inner surface of the shallow impluvium, covered with pieces of colored marbles similar to those in the fauces. Still more marked was the contrast in the strong colors of the walls. Below was a broad surface of black; then a projecting white dentil cornice, and above this, masses of dark red, bluish green, and yellow. The decoration, as usual in the first style, was not carried to the ceiling, but stopped just above the side doors; the upper part of the wall was left in the white.

As one stepped across the mosaic border at the end of the fauces, a beautiful vista opened up before the eyes. From the aperture of the compluvium a diffused light was spread through the atrium brilliant with its rich coloring. At the rear the lofty entrance of the tablinum attracted the visitor by its stately dignity. Now the portières are drawn aside, and beyond the large window of the tablinum the columns of the first peristyle are seen ([Fig. 141]). The shrubs and flowers of the garden are bright with sunshine, and fragrant odors are wafted through the house; in the midst a slender fountain jet rises in the air and falls with a murmur pleasant to the ear. If the vegetation was not too luxuriant, one might look into the exedra, on the further side of the colonnade, and even catch glimpses of the trees and bushes in the garden of the second peristyle.

Of the rooms at the side of the atrium, one (f') was apparently the family sleeping room; places for two beds were set off by slight elevations in the floor. This room had been carefully redecorated in the second style; the room opposite, the decoration of which was inferior to that of the rest, was perhaps used by the porter (atriensis).

The tablinum (D), like that of the house of Sallust, had a broad window opening on the colonnade of the peristyle. In the middle of this room is a rectangular section paved with lozenge-shaped pieces of black, white, and green stone; the rest of the floor is of white mosaic. The floor of each ala was ornamented with a mosaic picture. In that at the left (C) are doves pulling a necklace out of a casket—a work of slight merit.

Fig. 141.—Longitudinal section of the house of the Faun, showing the large atrium, the first peristyle, and a corner of the second peristyle, restored.
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