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

here the animals around the household (cock, duck and stork) alternate with bushes. Below the candelabrum covered with bunches of grapes a bronze vessel is deposited on a pedestal (a crater or a cantharus), which during the meals served to mix up the wine and water. The Red Dining Room was a triclinium, which served to see the guests and with its rich decoration it is superior to ther other contemporary paintings at Baláca. The wall-painting represents the courses of the dinner, the original environments of the objects of the meals, the way to get them, and the entertaining scenes, events and the paraphernalia of them. After the application of plaster of several layers the main zones and motifs of the wallpainting had been constructed before. The investigations made so far suggest that for the determination of the dimensions of the zones the one and a half Roman feet was taken as a standard. The length of the diameter of the medallion of the main field and the length of certain picture bands within the stucco course are the same as the width of the candelabrum. The other zones were constructed most probably with the multiplication of this dimension. The two lateral panels were the double while the middle panel was the treble of the candelabrum standard. The height of the pedestal and of the stucco band together could amount to the width of two candelabrums. The total length of the wall-painting is about 4 m, its height is about 2,68-2,70 m. According to the new recontruction the eye-level had got at a height of about 1,75 m. The bottom of the picture field of the stucco started at about 2,56 m. Besides the usual red, black, green and yellow-ochre colours they applied also the less frequent blue and the rarely occurring pink (produced most probaby by adding white to red) as well as several tints of the red (claret, rosy). To bring about a light and shade effect and a plasticity in every instance the light creamy colour or the white were used. Except the red and black background colours the other motifs and decorations were applied on the surface by al secco technique. The different motifs are repeated in the different zones which testify the connection of the fragments with each other and their belonging to the same wall-painting. On the basis of analogous representations, archeological observations, the finds and considering the stock of motifs of the wall-paintings, the Wall-painting was completed in the second half of the 1

st century A.D. and at the turn of the l

st-2

nd centuries A. D. Most probably the painting decorated one of the rooms of the building No. XIII. ABBREVIATIONS ActaArchHung Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae Aquincumi Mozaik- és Falfestmény Gyűjtemény ÁLLAG, Cl.: Vendanges en Champagne. In: I temi figurativi nella Pittura Parietale Antica (IV sec. a. C.-IV sec. d.C.) Association Internationale pour la Peinture Mural Antique (A I PMA) (Bologna, 20-23 settembre 1995). Bologna 1997. ALRAM-STERN, E.: Die römischen Lampen aus Carnuntum. In: Der Römische Limes in Österreich. Heft 35. AMFGy ALLAG 1997 ALRAM-STERN 1989