The study analyses decorations of the First Style in terms of their appearance, diffusion, application, and importance in the Western Mediterranean. Based on fragments from more than a hundred sites, local and regional differences in the application and development of this decorative system are described for the first time. At the same time, it is able to highlight the significance of the First Style for the social élites, who consciously employed it in their homes as a display of status.

Wall-paintings have attracted considerable attention in research since the 19th century, especially after August Mau divided the great stock of paintings from the Vesuvian cities into four styles. The First Style, which is characterized above all by ashlar masonry being rendered in relief on plaster, was well established in the entire Mediterranean region from the late 5th century B.C. onward. This study for the first time systematically compiles and analyzes specimens from over 100 sites in the western Mediterranean. On this basis it is shown that the First Style appeared in the western Mediterranean simultaneously with the earliest known decorations in the east in the late 5th century B.C. Beyond that, pronounced regional and local differences in the application of the decoration system can be systematically established and specific local phenomena identified. The differentiation and enrichment of the First Style with decorative elements inspired by monumental architecture, a process that intensifies in the 3rd century BC, can accordingly be associated with phenomena of social and cultural history. The study further shows the importance of the decoration system for the social elites, who made conscious use of it in their houses to display their status.

Autorentext
Thomas Lappi ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter an der Freien Universität Berlin. Er wurde mit einer Dissertation zu Wanddekorationen des Ersten Stil im westlichen Mittelmeerraum an der Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen promoviert. Er war Mitarbeiter am DAI in Rom und erhielt für seine Dissertation das Wülfing-Stipendium 2017/18 für eine Forschungsreise im Mittelmeerraum. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte konzentrieren sich vor allem auf den westlichen Mittelmeerraum im Hellenismus und der Römischen Kaiserzeit, wo er im Rahmen verschiedener Ausgrabungsprojekte tätig ist (Pantelleria, Morgantina, Agrigent, Karthago). Ein besonderer Fokus liegt auf Wanddekorationen, Wohnhäusern und Urbanistik.