Address: Insula 10
Area: 309 square meters
Rooms: 8
House of the Cabinet Maker
is also known as the Blacksmith's House or the House of the
Carpenter. The main entrance leads from Vicolo del Menandro. The
inscription on the front of the house was once found, which said:
"Secundus sends his regards to his Prima (lover), wherever she is. I
ask my beloved to love me." Unfortunately, this romantic writing was
lost after its disccovery due to natural elements.
House of
the Cabinet Maker has been
preserved quite well. However, the interior was largely lost. The
frescoes, though preserved, have faded with time. Most of the murals
did not differ special art. White panels with red lines cover most
of the walls. Only some of the walls are covered with mythic
paintings such as the Sacrifice of Sofonisb and Daedalus and Icarus.
House of the Cabinet Maker was not distinguished
by a special size and decoration, but here the archaeologists were
in for an unexpected surprise. First, the remains of two bodies were
found in the room with a small amount of coins. Later,
archaeologists began to find jewelry and perfume bottles. As well as
measuring and surveying instruments, scales and weights in addition
to the tools of the craftsman hence the name.
Two rooms open on the west side of the corridor (a). The first room
(b) may have been used as a common storage room. The walls are
covered with a layer of plaster, painted white over the lower pink
frieze. In the northwest corner there is a latrine with low masonry.
The adjoining room (s) is a small room. The room is decorated with
frescoes in the third style with large white panels framed in red
above the bottom dark red frieze. The upper zone is simply decorated
with white panels painted in red and yellow and decorated with small
griffins.
The entrance corridor leads to a rectangular atrium
- living room (d), which has a central imluvium or indoor pool. The
walls of the atrium retain large panels of plaster, but the
decoration in the form of frescoes has almost disappeared, which
makes it impossible to describe the decoration. Next to the pool is
a marble table. On the table are armrests, decorated with marble
legs in the form of a lion's paws. In the west of the atrium - there
are two rooms (e) and (f). Room (e) is decorated with frescoes in
the third style with white panels, demarcated by the plains above
the bottom white frieze decorated with a red floral motif.