Hall of the Profane Museum
Hall of the Profane Museum
The hall, created by Clement XIII (1758-1769), is an architectural gem, a perfectly preserved eighteenth century “cabinet of antiquities”. The design of the floor is divided to reflect the form of the ceiling and the walls are covered with marble; the vault, supported at the corners by four stucco masks representing the seasons, is decorated with stucco and faux marble, and in the centre, a work in tempera by Stefano Pozzi, alluding to the founding of the Museum.
The furnishings were completed by Pius VI (1775-1799), who placed the bronze busts of four emperors in the room and added cabinets in exotic woods, constructed in 1785 by Andrea Mimmi. Luigi Valadier decorated the cabinet doors with a composition of archaeological objects in frames decorated with stucco motifs.