Architectural History of House of the Jewels
The House of the Jewels was constructed around 200 B.C. during the
Romanization of Campania by a member of the Cornelii family who had
acquired wealth and status in the town of Stabiae. The city was
originally a Greek settlement, but had become increasingly important as
a Roman town like many settlements in this region. Members of the
Cornelii family had relocated to Stabiae as Roman influence spread to
Campania, however, the family maintained many strong ties with Rome and
with prominent and powerful members of the government. Through an
inheritance of land and a continued business sense, one member of the
family, Gaius Cornelius, prospered in the city. With the increase of
his wealth, he built the House of the Jewels on the Via di Ostian. From
the beginning, the house was luxuriously decorated, but it passed from
generation to generation, changes were gradually made. These
renovations included a significant expansion in 120 B.C. when much was
added to the domus. After these renovations and expansions, the house
was maintained until after the earthquake in 62 A.D. at which time
another round of renovations and repairs were done. This is where we
are now, post-earthquake, but lets back up and take a look at the house
in the three stages it passed through in its history as it withstood
many generations of the Cornelii family.
At the initial building, the house consisted of an atrium complex and a
large, fairly undeveloped garden plot, the hortus. The facade of the
house was constructed of Nucera tufa and limestone, both typical
building components of the time and lined with Doric columns. From the
main entrance, a vestibulum led to the fauces and then to the Tuscan
atrium. The symmetry of the house was evident from the perfectly
parallel orientation of rooms about the atrium. With tricinia to either
side of the fauces, two cubicula and an ala flanking the sides of the
atrium and tricinia on both sides of the tablinium, this symmetry is
demonstrated. With the focus on ceremony and presentation, the atrium
and tablinum were the primary rooms of the domus, and thus, were the
most elaborately decorated. The Tuscanic atrium is filled with light
from the compluvium, adding to the spaciousness of the room as it opens
into the tablinum at the rear. The impluvium is also constructed of
tufa blocks which was covered in a geometric mosaic. The walls were
decorated in First Style paintings, usually large blocks of color or
attempts to replicate marble. The tablinum, a step above the atrium, is
decorated in the same style as the atrium, including a floor mosaic and
wall paintings. The focus of these rooms is ceremony and presentation
as this was the place where the master received and entertained his
guests and clients. The architecture, decoration, and atmosphere was
one that was meant to impress and display wealth and power. The other
rooms of the original house, the cubicula, tricinia, and alae were
constructed and decorated in the same fashion, but to a lesser degree.
With doors opening from the rear tricinia into the hortus, it is evident
that these rooms were used primarily in the summer while the front
tricinia were in winter months. Overall, the architecture of the
original house shows axiality through the symmetrical plan, First Style
construction and decoration, and an emphasis on ceremony and
presentation.
The House of the Jewels remained relatively unchanged until around 120
B.C. when a major expansion project was completed by the Cornelii family
member who inherited it. It is at this time that the focus of the domus
began to change. People began to desire a separation of public and
private space within their homes. This was accomplished by the addition
of a second atrium complex the subsequent addition of a peristyle and
adjoining rooms. The peristyle had not originally been planned for, but
with the changing times and fashions, it was added just a few short
years after the completion of the second atrium complex. The second or
private atrium was tetrastyle with a smaller entrance from the Via de
Ostian. Corinthian columns line the impluvium constructed of Nucera
tufa blocks. This atrium lacks a tablinum, which proves that it was not
used for public affairs, but rather the comfort of the family. The
southern ala of the original house was converted into an andron linking
the to atria at the time of this renovation. The front rooms of this
second atrium were used as storage and by the ianitor when necessary.
In addition, this atrium complex contained four tricinia, and three
additional cubicula which were used for intimate family functions and
served as a place for the women to congregate while the men occupied the
main atrium complex.
With the addition of the peristyle a few years later, the separation of
public and private areas became increasing easier. Colonnaded and
filled with an abundance of flowers, the peristyle was lined on the rear
with a series of room. To the north end, a biblioteca constructed with
a series of shelves and cabinets to hold scroll. Following, an exedra
was added with an elliptical rear wall. Below the exedra, slave
quarters, a kitchen, stable, and latrine were added, further completing
the separation of space. These rooms were small, sparsely finished,
earthen floored, and seemed to be an afterthought of the construction
because they lack the careful building of the rest of the domus. It is
at this point that the House of the Jewels remained until after the
earthquake in 62 A.D.
At that time, many of the rooms were damaged and repairs were the main
concern of Publius Cornelius, the man who had inherited the house a few
years prior. These renovations included repairing building damaged and
also more aesthetic changes. Much of the second atrium is updated to
modern standards and styles (generally Fourth Style), but the main
atrium complex was maintained in its original style as a display of the
history of the domus and wealth of the Cornelii. The tricinia were some
of the first rooms to be repaired and remodeled because they had become
increasingly important for rooms of entertainment of guests. In
addition to these changes, the front rooms of the house were converted
to shops for economic use. Large windows were added to the fronts of
the shops and each was filled with the appropriate furniture for its
use.
However, the renovations are not complete at the time we are viewing
the House of the Jewels. Much work has yet to be done, builders are in
short supply and such extensive repairs are quite expensive. However,
the domus that we see now clearly demonstrates the progression of
changes that have occurred over the generations. Overall, the House of
the Jewels continues to be a building displaying the great wealth of the
Cornelii and the comfort of the modern Roman home of the 1st century
A.D.