Diam. 8 5/8 in. (22 cm) Purchase, H. Dumscombe Colt Gift, 1977
(1977.234.12) This bowl was excavated at Tawilan (cAin Musa),
northeast of Petra. The interior decoration is divided into five
segments, each marked with hatching, that meet at an X in the
center. An abstract leaf is painted in the center of each
segment, and large ovals are painted over the lines dividing the
segments. The bowl has a rounded bottom and an inverted rim. Its
shape, its dark red-orange color, and its decoration, a radial,
rotational design limited to two abstract motifs set against a
hatched background, all point to a date in the first century
A.D. It has been suggested that Nabataean painted ware was
deliberately broken after use in religious ceremonies; the ware
has also been connected with cultic meals for the deceased. The
very thin painted ware so closely identified with Nabataean
culture began to appear in the first century B.C. It reflects
the influence of Hellenistic wares, but because its shapes,
colors, and decoration are