lamps were normally placed on separate stands. In wealthy
houses tables were sometimes used for displays of decorative
objects. Th ese objects might include the beautifully painted
vases now displayed in museums and reproduced in art his-
tory textbooks. Pottery for practical purposes—for storing oil
and grains and for use as cookware—was much plainer, and
Greek cookware consisted of these and simple iron pots and
skillets.
Decorative objects, such as tapestries and bronze plaques,
could also be hung on walls, which were themselves painted,
either quite simply—plain red or white was popular—or ex-
travagantly. Th e packed-earth fl oors of the typical Greek
house could be covered with rugs or mats, which were prob-
ably highly decorative in wealthier households, though little
direct ev idence suppor ts t his notion. In addition, dining room
fl oors were sometimes covered with decorative mosaics.
Indoor lighting depended on the use of oil-burning
lamps, which were either placed on stands or suspended from
the ceiling or walls by means of cords or chains. Some were
metal, but most were made of fi red clay, which survives ex-
traordinarily well when buried in the ground, so countless
thousands of oil lamps survive from antiquity. Th ese typi-
cally contained a reservoir for fuel (usually olive oil) and a
nozzle into which a wick was inserted and lit. Such lighting
was by no means ideal. Lamps of this sort do not produce
much light and produce heat as well, which, given the warm
Greek climate, would be unwanted for much of the year. Th e
cheaper grades of olive oil used for fuel tended to produce
smoke, and in addition to the obvious fi re hazards of using an
open fl ame, the mere lighting of a lamp could pose problems.
Kindling a fi re was not easy, and the usual practice was to
keep a fl ame or embers burning so that a fi re could be eas-
ily rekindled. Outdoor lighting (for example, for making
one’s way through dark streets) was oft en accomplished with
torches, which could produce a brighter fl ame through use
of fl ammable materials such as pitch, which were not suit-
able for indoor lighting. Poor lighting technology was only a
minor problem for the Greeks, however, since they, like most
pre-industrial peoples, tended to rise at dawn and spend only
a small percentage of their waking hours in the dark.
ROME
BY FRANCESCA C. TRONCHIN
A number of sources of information about Roman furniture
and household goods are available. Archaeological material,
especially from such sites as Pompeii and Herculaneum, in-
cludes actual remains of objects of everyday use in the Roman
world. Secondary visual sources, such as paintings and mo-
saics, depict Roman interiors. Finally, evidence from ancient
literature also provides information about the types of furni-
ture and domestic implements used in antiquity.
Because the rooms in most Roman houses were oft en few,
small, and designed for multiple uses, furniture needed to be
relatively portable. A space that functioned as a bedroom at
night might also have been used for work or study during the
day, so the required furniture for these activities was brought
in and out of the space at diff erent times of the day. Fold-
ing stools, for example, were very practical because they were
portable and could be stored in small spaces when not in use.
An exception to this rule was the arca, or chest, which was
most frequently found in the main hall of a Roman house, the
atrium. Th ese cupboards functioned as strongboxes to pro-
tect household valuables and could vary in size and material
from a large wooden chest to a tall iron or bronze armoire.
By far the most prevalent pieces of furniture in the Ro-
man house were chairs, tables, and couches. Stools and chairs
made of both ordinary materials such as wood and exotic ma-
terials such as ivory were common and could be used for a
g re at nu mb e r of a c t i v it ie s. Sto ol s we re more c om mon t h a n t he
chairs with backs derived from the Greek klismos. Couches
with turned legs and topped with cushions were common in
both the bedrooms and dining rooms of Roman homes. At
dinner parties guests reclined on one of three couches placed
at right angles to one another in a Roman dining room,
whose name, triclinium, comes from the Greek words for
“three couches.” Th e most elaborate couches could be inlaid
with ivory and colored glass or decorated with bronze and
silver animal heads on the headboards. In describing luxuri-
ous dinner parties Roman authors note the use of beautifully
embroidered silk cushions on these dining couches.
Both utilitarian and luxurious tables have survived
at Roman archaeological sites. Tables came in a variety of
shapes and sizes. Benchlike tables made of wood and with
four legs could be used for working or for dining in more
modest homes. Round tables supported by three sculptural
legs in the shape of animal legs or mythological fi gures were
popular in the dining rooms of the very wealthy. Th is type of
table was usually cast in bronze; an example in the National
Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy, is a table with three
legs in the shape of satyrs with goats’ legs. A rectangular table
with sculpted supports in marble seems to be a Roman in-
vention without precedent in Greek furniture. Th e supports
terminate on both ends with animals such as griffi ns or lions
in an opposing stance. Th ese marble tables were popular in
Roman gardens, where they were a relatively permanent part
of the landscaping and decoration of the exterior space.
Utensils, tableware, and cooking vessels in the Roman
world were made from a variety of materials. Terra-cotta was
most popular for cups, plates, and storage containers. Th ese
fi red clay objects were fairly durable and could be produced
in both utilitarian and decorated varieties. Large storage
containers for wine, oil, and other foodstuff s were usually
made of coarse pottery, but fi ner tableware could be of a very
high quality. Varieties of Roman terra-cotta, such as African
red slip ware, red gloss, and Arretine, were frequently orna-
mented with stamped or molded decorations in the shapes
of fl oral forms, mythological fi gures, and even gladiatorial
scenes. Many of these fi nely decorated terra-cottas were in-
fl uenced by even more costly vessels in glass or metal.568 household goods: Rome