Una nuova "questione conviviale": il vaso e il suo doppio

The starting point of this discussion are two identical bronze amphorae held in the storerooms of the Archaeological Museum of Naples which were recently identified as part of the original furnishings of the House of M. Lucretius on the Via Stabia in Pompeii. This pair of vases gives rise to a more substantial analysis of the use of vase pairs in the Roman culture, in particular twin vessels for pouring liquids, amphorae and jugs which were commonly present during Roman banqueting services. First, the Pompeian bronze jugs, which were found together in identical couples, are mapped and analysed typologically, on the basis of S. Tassinari’s publication on Pompeian bronzes. Secondly, their symbolical significance and practical functions will be discussed. It is possible that these jugs were exhibited symmetrically on the cartibulum table in the atrium on special occasions, together with the all the most prestigious argentum potorium of the house, echoing the axial and symmetrical architecture of the domus itself. Hypothetically, they could also have been used in performative ways during the banquet in a specular serving choreography, thus mirroring the symmetry of the triclinium setting.

Keywords: Pompeii, paried of vases, silverware, bronze vessels