Eighteenth-century Neoclassical interiors were
directly inspired by new discoveries of the gloryof
Greece and the grandeur of Rome, and summarized the
conception of a noble classical world.
The first archeological event of modern times,
the discovery and initial excavation of the ancient buried
city of Pompeii, startled and thrilled Europe. Artifacts found in
Pompeii inspired the slim, straight-lined elegant Pompeian
style that almost entirely displaced the curvilinear Rococo.
In England the new Pompeian manner was associated with its
most artful practitioner, Robert Adam architect and archeologist.
Decorative motifs such as: medallions, urns,
vine scrolls, sphinxes and tripods are among the wide vocabulary
taken from classical antiquity achieved with great delicacy.
