The Warka Vase or Uruk vase is a slim carved

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

vessel found in the temple complex of the Sumerian goddess

Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...

in the ruins of the ancient city of

Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...

, located in the modern Al Muthanna Governorate, in southern Iraq. Like the Uruk Trough and the Narmer Palette from Egypt, it is one of the earliest surviving works of narrative relief sculpture, dated to c. 3200–3000 BC. Simple relief sculpture is also known from much earlier periods, from the site of Göbekli Tepe, dating to circa 9000 BC. The bottom register displays naturalistic components of life, including water and plants, such as date palm, barley, and wheat. On the upper portion of the lowest register, alternating rams and ewes march in a single file. The middle register conveys naked men carrying baskets of foodstuffs symbolizing offerings. Lastly, the top register depicts the goddess Inanna accepting a votive offer.

stands at the front portion of the gate surrounded by her richly filled shrine and storehouse (identifiable by two reed door poles with dangling banners). This scene may illustrate a reproduction of the ritual marriage between the goddess and Dumuzi, her consort that ensures Uruk's continued vitality. The vase depicts an example of hierarchy being a portion of nature, and, according to anthropologist Susan Pollock, shows that social and natural hierarchies were most likely akin to each other in ancient Mesopotamia.

Discovery

The vase was discovered as a collection of fragments by German

Assyriologists Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, sout ...

in their sixth excavation season at Uruk in 1933/1934. The find was recorded as find number W14873 in the expedition's field book under an entry dated 2 January 1934, which read ''"Großes Gefäß aus Alabaster, ca. 96 cm hoch mit Flachrelief"'' ("large container of alabaster, circa 96 cm high with flat-reliefs"). The vase, which showed signs of being repaired in antiquity, stood 3 feet, ¼ inches (1 m) tall. Other sources cite it as having been a slightly taller 106 cm, with an upper diameter of 36 cm.Ralf B. Wartke,
Eine Vermißtenliste (2): Die "Warka-Vase" aus Bagdad
", ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'' 26 April 2003, Nbr 97, page 39.''. English translatio
here
Oriental Institute, Chicago,
Lost Treasures from Iraq-Warka Vase
', website accessed 8 June 2007. It is named after the modern village of Warka – known as Uruk to the ancient Sumerians. A

plaster cast A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – p ...

was made of the original and this reproduction stood for many decades in room 5 of the Near-Eastern Museum in Berlin (Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin), Germany.

Decoration

The vase has four registers – or tiers – of carving. The bottom register depicts the vegetation in the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the P ...

and Euphrates delta, such as the natural reeds and cultivated grain. Above this vegetation is a procession of animals, such as ram and sheep presented in a strict profile view. The procession continues in the second register with nude males carrying bowls and jars of sacrificial elements, such as fruit and grain. The top register is a full scene, rather than a continuous pattern. In this register, the procession ends at the temple area.

, one of the chief goddesses of Mesopotamia and later known as

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...

in the Akkadian

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

, stands, signified by two bundles of reeds behind her. She is being offered a bowl of fruit and grain by a nude figure. The en of Uruk dressed in a ceremonial kilt and long belt faces her leading the procession.

Components

File:Top register, Warka Vase, Uruk, c. 3000 BCE, Iraq Museum.jpg, Top register, Warka Vase, Iraq Museum File:Top register, Warka Vase, from Uruk, c. 3000 BCE. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.jpg, Top register, Warka Vase, Iraq Museum File:Warka Vase, Top Register.jpg, Top register, Warka Vase, Iraq Museum File:Warka Vase, top register.jpg, Top register, Warka Vase, Iraq Museum File:Warka Vase, Middle Register.jpg, Middle register, Warka Vase, Iraq Museum File:Warka Vase, Lower Register.jpg, Lower register, Warka Vase, Iraq Museum

Theft and restoration

The Warka Vase was one of the thousands of artifacts which were

looted Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

from the

National Museum of Iraq The Iraq Museum ( ar, المتحف العراقي) is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq, a recent phenomenon influenced by other nations' naming of their national muse ...

during the

2003 Invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

. In April 2003 it was forcibly wrenched from the case where it was mounted, snapping at the base (the foot of the vase remaining attached to the base of the smashed display case. The vase was later returned during an

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offic ...

to the

Iraq Museum The Iraq Museum ( ar, المتحف العراقي) is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq, a recent phenomenon influenced by other nations' naming of their national museum ...

on 12 June 2003 by three unidentified men in their early twenties, driving a red Toyota vehicle. As reported by a correspondent for '' The Times'' newspaper, Soon after the vase's return, broken into 14 pieces, it was announced that the vase would be restored. A pair of comparison photographs, released by the Oriental Institute, Chicago, showed significant damage (as of the day of return, 12 June 2003) to the top and bottom of the vessel.Clemens D. Reichel,
Iraq Museum Project
, in ''The Oriental Institute 2002–2003 Annual Report''. The fully restored Warka Vase (museum number IM19606) is now on display in the Iraq Museum.

References

External links

Lost Treasures from Iraq—Objects
( Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago) (pre-2003 b&w photo compared with colour photograph from 12 June 2003)
The Warka Vase
(ancientworlds.net) *Fiona Curruthers,

, '' University of Sydney News'', 19 September 2003. (Colour image of pre-war Warka Vase, as well as missing "Lady of Uruk (Warka)" stone head).
The Iraq Museum Database
(hosted by the Oriental Institute, Chicago) {{Authority control Objects in the National Museum of Iraq Sumerian art and architecture Sculpture of the Ancient Near East Archaeological theft Alabaster Stolen works of art 4th-millennium BC works Individual vases Uruk Inanna