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

Roman feast started with an egg and was finished with the consumption of fruits.

164 The assortment of meals can be observed well also on the so-called "unswept dining room" mosaic floor, mentioned also by Plinius

165 where leavings of a feast are represented.

166 The Romans had three meals during the day. The first one, the breakfast (ientaculum) consisted of cold dishes, e.g. bread dipped in wine, cheese, egg, honey and fruits. It was followed by the dinner iprandinum), consisting of a single-course hot dish, vegetables, salad, roasted or boiled meat, fish, mushroom or egg. The principal meal of the day was a feast with several courses (coena), after 3 hour p.m. and consisted of three main courses: - the first one (gustus, gustatio, promulsis) meant light appetizers, vegetables, salad, fish with sauce, edible snails, mussel, egg, song-birds. Egg was an important element of the gustus, and the drinking of bragget (a fermented must with honey and spices) belonged to the consumption to this course - the second one (coena, mensae primae) consisted of different sorts of meat. It could be some poultry (wild pigeon, duck, thrush, partridge, hazel-grouse, peacock, pheasant, ostrich, goose, etc.), fish (marine or river fish, aquatic animals), game (wild boar, red deer, hare, etc.) or the meat of some domesticated animals (chicken, cock, pig, piglet, cattle or calf, etc.) - the third one (mensae secundae, coenae secundae) was the dessert: cakes, other sweets and finally the meal was ended by the serving up of fruits.

167 The large red panels of the middle main zone of the wall-painting of the Red Dining Room were decorated with round medallions. The decoration of two of the medallions can be reconstructed almost completely, in spite of some missing fragments. The representation in the third medallion is uncertain, each of the known fragments definitely belongs to a medallion, though it is not sure that they decorated the same picture field. Furthermore, new fragment with medallion

168 representation came to light from those excavations which were made by S. Palágyi between 1976 and 1984 in the territory of the main building.

169 According to my opinion within the three known medallions certain courses of the gustus are represented. On the fragments of the medallions the representations of the offered meals served as appetizers for the guests. Within the first picture field we see a hooked up net with parts of two eggs in it, presumably originally three or four eggs were in it. And in the lowermost part of the medallion we see the fragment of a piece of ham which seems as if fallen out or rolled out of a napkin or from a table. (Fig. 3.) Within the following medallion there are ten birds hanging down with their feet gathered up, together with a bread. (Fig. 18.) The birds are deplumed and skinned, therefore the determination of their heads is difficult, though it is sure, that the birds are of the same form and belong to the same species. They have a relatively small head, a relatively long neck and beak therefore we may suppose that they are some sorts of water-side birds. They are not storks because their beaks are not so long, neither geese because their beaks are narrow and they are no pheasants or snipes because they have long, thin necks. The characteristics of the birds therefore allow us to think of heron, egret or crane.

170 A favourite subject of Roman still life paintings was the representation of birds captured or purchased which appear on the pictures in groups, bundled at their feet or at their heads and hanging on something.

171 Besides the fowls we see a circular bread divided into six parts. At the same time there is a representation of another bread in the foreground of the picture, this one had rolled down forward. The cook-