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

ery-book of Apicius contains several receipts the preparing of which needs bread,

172 though it is the meal called sala cattabia which fits first of all poultries.

173 According to the testimony of the representations this circular, roll-like bread was widespread all over the Roman Empire though in a wide range of dimensions. This type of bread can be seen on several wall-paintings in the towns buried by the eruption of the Vesuvius.

174 On the wall of a bakery in Pompeii we see the picture of similar breads.

175 On the sarcificial scenes of Pannonian tombstones we frequently meet the representations of circular breads put on a circular table (tripus).

m In the following medallion we see eight mushrooms in a basket which has a low rim, circular bottom and a single handle (canistrum) and similarly to the representations of the other medallions, here, too, a mushroom had rolled out into the foreground. (Fig. 19.) The mushrooms seem to represent the different phases of growth of the same species.

177 This mushroom with its yellow stem and red cap can be identified with the so-called Caesar's mushroom (its ancient name was Boletus, its present name is Amanita caesarea).

178 The climate in Pannónia made possible that the owners of the villa themselves could collect even in their neighbourhood which, according to testimony of the painting was a favourite delicacy of them.

179 Anyway, because of the perishable nature of mushrooms the possibility of import is obviously excluded.

180 In the cookery-book of Apicius we find several ways of preparing the boletos mushroom,

181 suggesting that this tasty delicacy was popular not only in Pannónia. Those mushroom representations - usually several species of them, rolling out of baskets which we can observe on the genre scenes found in the towns around the Vesuvius suggest an intensive collection and consumption of mushrooms.

182 If the sala cattabia was served up as a cold dishes,

183 supposedly within all the three medallions we see the uncooked materials of the first course of the dinner prepared for cooking or making. On the basis of the fragments the medallion with the representation of the birds decorated the middle panel, which was wider then the two lateral ones. The place of the bird representation was within the middle, wider panel, that is in a central position, all the more because the meat course or courses had a leading part during the meals and they were the objects of distinguished interest both during the whole meal or within a course. Mushrooms are mentioned as eaten usually at lunch,

184 though it is highly probable that they were also among the meals of some courses of the dinner. Therefore it is possible that the mushroom representation decorated another wall of the room. On the basis of the dimensions of the fragments the panel with the mushroom picture was narrower than the panel with the bird representation. The width of the other panel with the egg and ham pictures can be constructed by considering the dimensions of the mushroom panel. In the reconstruction I put the mushroom panel to the other side of the main panel, (Fig. 3), though in the present phase of the reconstruction I am still unable to decide whether the panel belonged to here, or not, at any rate the dimensions of the panel suggest this solution. Within the medallions decorating the other walls of the room presumably continued the display of other uncooked materials of the appetizing meals. Since the principal meal of the Romans was the dinner the representations of the principal courses had to be at the principal place within the room, perhaps just opposite to the entrance. It is only a hypothesis, though it seems quite plausible that those people who had entered the room, moving inwards from the entrance could inspect the courses of the dinner within the medallions. Since for the painted stucco decorations we supposed the "mirroring" arrangement and oneway "movemenf'of the