Nabataean Painting

Biclinium 849, Siq al-Barid

The ceiling is decorated with flowering vines. The technique of the painting, done in Hellenistic Alexandrian style, is delicate and skillful. This is the only surviving example of Nabataean painting. Although the ceiling has been blackened by smoke from the fires of later occupants, some details can still be made out. In the lower right corner, for example, a little squirrel scampers through the foliage next to a green leaf.