Pompeian Domestic Sculpture

The importance of finding works of Roman sculpture in situ has been recognized almost from the beginnings of scientific archaeology. Less appreciated has been the knowledge to be gained about workshops and production of art works through the study of related finds. The high rate of survival among Pompeian artifacts permits the reconstruction of workshop pradices and individual craftsmen's oeuvres - a circumstance nearly unique in the study of Roman art. Similarly the terminus ante quem of A.D. 79 offered by Pompeii and its immediate neighbors is of the greatest value in documenting a crucial phase of the momentous Roman revolution in society and in the arts which occurred between the principates af Augustus and Hadrian.

The discovery and excavation of the cities buried by Vesuvius, and the publication of their artifacts by a specially charged academy played a vital role in the development of a new scientific era in Roman historiography. However, from the beginning, the academicians concerned themselves with the artifacts only after they had been removed to the museum and undergone extensive restoration. The excavations, which were in the hands of non-academic engineers, were either filled in, or, if left open, appreciated mainly for their picturesque quality.