Warka Vase

The Warka Vase or Uruk vase is a slim carved alabaster vessel found in a temple complex in the ruins of the ancient city of Uruk, located in the modern Al Muthanna Governorate, in southern Iraq. Like the Uruk Trough, Mask of Warka, and the Narmer Palette from Egypt, it is one of the earliest surviving works of narrative relief sculpture, found, no in situ, in a layer dated to c. 3100–2900 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 a female deity accepting a votive offer. A female deity stands at the front portion of the gate surrounded by her richly filled shrine and storehouse. This scene may illustrate a reproduction of the ritual marriage between the goddess and her consort that ensures Uruk's continued vitality.

Discovery

The vase was discovered as a collection of 15 fragments by German archaeologists 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". It was on excavation level III which dated to the Jemdat Nasr period ie in the "Eanna district". It was not found in situ as part of a "temple treasury hoard" so
that would be a no later than date. Because of some similarities to numerical tables it has been suggested the vase dates to Uruk V. It was found along with a number of other items and was deemed a votive object by the excavators. The vase had been repaired in antiquity using copper bands.
Because the reconstruction of the base is uncertain estimates of the total height
of the vase range from 105cm to 110cm. The diameter at the mouth is 38cm and 28cm and the narrowest point near the base and wall thickness is
2cm at the top part and increases toward the bottom. The three registers are 25cm,
17.5cm, and 20.5cm from top to bottom. The bottom register is divided by a band which results in the vase sometimes being said to have four registers.
A plaster cast was made of the original and this reproduction stood for many decades in room 5 of the Near-Eastern Museum in Berlin, Germany.

Decoration

The vase has three registers – or tiers – of carving. The bottom register depicts the vegetation in the Tigris 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. A female deity stands with two bundles of reeds behind her. She is being offered a bowl of fruit and grain by a nude figure. A ruler-figure dressed in a ceremonial kilt and long belt faces her leading the procession.

Iconography

Theft and restoration

The Warka Vase was one of the thousands of artifacts which were looted from the National Museum of Iraq during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. In April 2003, it was forcibly wrenched from the case where it was mounted, snapping at the base to the top and bottom of the vessel.
The fully restored Warka Vase is now on display in the Iraq Museum.