Roman fresco from the fullonica (dyer’s shop) of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii. Object dated to I century CE; found in Pompeii. Now located in the National museum of Naples.
The man on the left is busy brushing wool cloth. The man on the right, standing beneath a caged dome, is engaged in fabric whitening via sulphurized fumigation. An owl is perched on top of the cage, likely a symbol of Athena, protector of the lanaiuoli (i.e. companies of wool merchants).
