Unknown Maker, Roman

Elaborate wall frescoes provided elite Roman citizens with an opportunity for conspicuous displays of affluence and social status. This fragment from a villa near Pompeii exemplifies the candelabrum motif, an ornate decorative scheme characterized by its mixture of figurative elements and vine-like shapes. The yellow color of the candelabrum, which evokes the luster of gold, identifies it as an object of great value, thus indicating the proprietor’s wealth. This display of luxury is continued within the framed still life that appears within the wispy candelabrum. By depicting a goose nibbling on fruit, this scene also evokes the lush environment of the wine god Bacchus, thus associating the villa, and its owner, with the abundance of the gods. Such imagery was ideally suited for a dining room (triclinium) which is most likely where this fragment was originally located.