DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61617#0388
POMPEII
328
At the left of the press is a large kettle resting on a tripod.
The oil is being stirred as it is heated; a similar kettle appears
in the scene in a shop presented in the other part of the picture.
Further on are two figures beside a deep vessel, but the process
represented is not clear.
The rest of the picture relates to the selling of oil. In the
background is a cupboard, with a statuette — perhaps of a di-
vinity— on the upper shelf. In front is an open chest resting
on four legs. Both the cupboard and the box contain bottles
and jars of various shapes and sizes for holding oil; a Cupid
Fig. 160. — Cupids
Wall painting in the
has just taken one up. On the top of the chest is a roll of
papyrus with a pair of scales; oil was sold by weight. A
memorandum on the wall of an adjoining house reads: XIII.
K. Fe. oil. p. DCCCXXXX,— ‘January 20, 840 pounds of oil.’
The central figure of the group at the left is the lady who has
come to make a purchase. A cushioned seat has been placed
for her, with a footstool; the maid stands motionless behind, a
large fan resting on the right shoulder. The proprietor holds
in his right hand a spoon containing a sample which he has just
taken from the jar under his arm; the lady seems to be test-
ing the quality in her hands. The article sold is doubtless the
fine perfumed oil, not the common variety.
328
At the left of the press is a large kettle resting on a tripod.
The oil is being stirred as it is heated; a similar kettle appears
in the scene in a shop presented in the other part of the picture.
Further on are two figures beside a deep vessel, but the process
represented is not clear.
The rest of the picture relates to the selling of oil. In the
background is a cupboard, with a statuette — perhaps of a di-
vinity— on the upper shelf. In front is an open chest resting
on four legs. Both the cupboard and the box contain bottles
and jars of various shapes and sizes for holding oil; a Cupid
Fig. 160. — Cupids
Wall painting in the
has just taken one up. On the top of the chest is a roll of
papyrus with a pair of scales; oil was sold by weight. A
memorandum on the wall of an adjoining house reads: XIII.
K. Fe. oil. p. DCCCXXXX,— ‘January 20, 840 pounds of oil.’
The central figure of the group at the left is the lady who has
come to make a purchase. A cushioned seat has been placed
for her, with a footstool; the maid stands motionless behind, a
large fan resting on the right shoulder. The proprietor holds
in his right hand a spoon containing a sample which he has just
taken from the jar under his arm; the lady seems to be test-
ing the quality in her hands. The article sold is doubtless the
fine perfumed oil, not the common variety.