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"That the mostly-deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi had a rather strange sense of aesthetics was clear to anyone who saw his wardrobe, a bizarre mix of traditional costume, blinged-out precious metal highlights, and big sunglasses. But with the rebels&amp;#39; mounting takeover of Triopoli, and the occupation of Muammar Gaddafi&amp;#39;s Bab al-Aziziya compound, have come new details of the Gaddafi family&amp;#39;s taste in art, interior decorating, and, strangely enough, women. Photos of rebels occupying Gaddafi&amp;#39;s daughter Aisha's home reveal luxurious interiors outfitted with curving stairwells, tiled marble floors, and closets full of hanging clothes. The centerpiece of the home, though, is a golden chaise in the shape of a mermaid, her flowing hair forming the piece&amp;#39;s back. The mermaid, as it turns out, has Aisha&amp;#39;s face. Rebels sprawl out on the couch with guns in hand. The whole family seems to have had a taste for gold gilding. Among the artifacts found in Muammar Gaddafi&amp;#39;s place were a gold-plated tea trolley and a James Bond-style golden rifle. The living room of Gaddafi son Saadi is decked out with gold-trimmed wooden paneling and coffered ceilings. Gaddafi&amp;#39;s personal headquarters held golf carts, gym equipment, and a jet ski. (The Guardian has a surreal photo slideshow.) What might be the strangest find of the raids on Gaddafi properties was a look-book photo album of former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Gaddafi apparently very much admired Rice, calling her his &amp;quot;darling black African woman.&amp;quot; The creepy photo album only further proves this schoolboy crush. The Gaddafis are not only consumers of the world&amp;#39;s decorative possibilities, but creators as well. Gaddafi&amp;#39;s son Saif has showed his personal paintings at London&amp;#39;s Kensington Gardens in 2002 in an exhibition called &amp;quot;The Desert is Not Silent.&amp;quot; Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones remembers the show as &amp;quot;confirming all the old stereotypes about dictators, or dictators&amp;#39; sons,&amp;quot; noting that Saif&amp;#39;s art as well as the objects found in the family&amp;#39;s residencies reaffirm &amp;quot;the association of tyranny and kitsch art.&amp;quot; While the Gaddafi family has reportedly escaped from Libya into Algeria, their taste in art remains to be dissected."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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