K. Palágyi Sylvia szerk.: Balácai Közlemények 2008/10. (Veszprém, 2008)

KIRCHHOF, ANITA: The decorative system and reconstruction of the red dining room at Baláca - A balácai vörös ebédlő dekorációs rendszere és rekonstrukciója

length of the picture field was 52,5 cm. There is, however, another possibility, using the dimensions of the tree of opposite direction and of the scene with the small vessel. The result in this instance is 47,5 cm.

110 The theme of the green background picture fields are more simple, with alternating representations of water-plants and sedges. Here, too, there were three fields and here, too, the two lateral fields were shorter and the middle one was longer. The estimated length of the green field is 47,6 cm. The division of the blue background picture field differs from that of the other ones, because the length of the hypocampus 111 differs from that of the other scenes. Within the blue background picture field there is a room for two hypocampus representations with one dolphin between them and for a supplementary scene at each ending of the field (which maybe were also dolphin representations). The decorative system of the blue background picture field was: dolphin-^pocampM^-dolphin-ZijTJocampwi-dolphin, an on this basis the estimated length of the field was 51,1 cm. (Figs. 3.-4., 75.) The length of the picture fields of the stuccos found in the room No. 11. is also uncertain because of the missing fragments. However, the tripartition can be observed on the fragments with green background colour beyond doubt. At the same time just the green background picture is the one which may be misleading because supposedly its position was at the contact of the picture fields of opposite direction (as it is testified by the birds standing with their back to each other), therefore because of the place left empty for it, it was shorter or maybe wider than the other ones. (Yet it seems to be rather shorter.) Here, too, the conception is similar: plant-bird-plant, bird, plant-bird-plant following each other. The estimated length could be 43,5 cm. (Fig. 25.) On the basis of the fragments within the middle field of the picture strip with red background most probably there was a scene representing a longer story, similarly to the corresponding representation of the Red Dining Room. In this middle field we may detect details of escaping deer and of tree, in the preceding field the hind-quarters of an escaping animal, tree and maybe a spear can be seen. They, too, prove the tripartition. On the basis of these motifs the order of scenes could be the following: tree-animal-tree, chasing scene, treeescaping animal-tree. (Fig. 26.) The full length of the complete picture field is approximately 51,1 cm which corresponds to the constructed length of the picture field on blue background of the Red Dining Room. A similar division of picture fields can be found in Pompeii, in the house of the Vettii, where the three scenes depict also a oneway movement, with an amor, standing at the edges of the first and last fields, than three trees follow and finally there is a scene with a chariot riding. At the same time in the middle field which is wider than the lateral ones we see a more complex scene: one of the charioteers is falling headlong."

2 Comparing the length of the fields of the two stucco decorations from Baláca we may state that the length of the blue and red background scenes is the same, approx. 51 cm, while the green background fields are shorter than the other ones on both, though the length of the green background picture field of the fragments from the room No. 11. is not really authentic. We suppose that every picture strip had the same length and they were measured out before painting. The marks left by the measuring out are covered by the medallions, there are no marks left by engraving or by the use of compasses, maybe the marking out was made by painting. According to the Roman proportions two Roman feet correspond to 59,2 cm, one and a half Roman feet was the equivalent of 44,4 cm. If we do not reckon the width of the medallions in the length of the picture fields, in the Red Dining Room the length of the blue picture strip is 45,5 cm, that of the red one is 46,7, and that of the green one is 42 cm. The