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 Ancient 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.[
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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 (identifiable by two reed door poles with dangling banners). This scene may illustrate a reproduction of the ritual marriage between the goddess and her consort that ensures Uruk's continued vitality.
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Discovery
The vase was discovered as a collection of 15 fragments by German archaeologists in their sixth excavation season at Uruk in 1933/1934.[[1]Ernst Heinrich, "Kleinfunde aus den archaischen Tempelschichten in Uruk", Harrassowitz, Leipzig 1936 (German)] 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").[ It was on excavation level III which dated to the Jemdat Nasr period (also called the Uruk III period) ie (c. 3100-2900 BC) 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 Proto-cuneiform it has been suggested the vase dates to Uruk V (c, 3500 BC).][Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, "The Uruk Vase: Sequential Narrative", When Writing Met Art: From Symbol to Story, New York, USA: University of Texas Press, pp. 41-46, 2007] It was found along with a number of other items (including fragments of another vase) and was deemed a votive object by the excavators.[[2]Miller, Naomi F., Philip Jones, and Holly Pittman, "Sign and Image: Representations of Plants on the Warka Vase of Early Mesopotamia", Origini: Preistoria e protostoria delle civiltà antiche 39, pp. 53-74, 2017] 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 relief portion is 92cm high). 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.[Hockmann, Daniel, "Die Warka-Vase eine neue Interpretation", Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 326-336, 2009] The bottom register is divided by a band which results in the vase sometimes being said to have four registers.[Pittman, Holly, "The First Cities", Journey to the City: A Companion to the Middle East Galleries at the Penn Museum, edited by Steve Tinney and Karen Sonik, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 45-74, 2019]
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 (Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin), Germany.
Decoration
The vase has three registers – or tiers – of carving. The bottom register depicts the vegetation in the Tigris River and Euphrates River 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.[Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, "Images of Enship", in Between the Rivers and Over the Mountains: Archaeologica Anatolica et Mesopotamica, Alba Palmieri dedicata, edited by Marcella Frangipane, Mario Liverani, Paolo Matthiae, and Harald Hauptmann, Roma: Universitàdegli studi di Roma, pp. 201–219, 1993][Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Priest-King of Uruk Times", History, Texts and Art in Early Babylonia: Three Essays, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 82-104, 2017]
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
Iconography
+ Iconography of the Upper Register
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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 (the foot of the vase remaining attached to the base of the smashed display case.
The vase was later returned during an amnesty to the Iraq 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.[[3]Clemens D. Reichel, "Iraq Museum Project", in The Oriental Institute 2002–2003 Annual Report, 2003]
The fully restored Warka Vase (museum number IM19606) is now on display in the Iraq Museum.
See also
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Archaeological looting in Iraq
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Art of Mesopotamia
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Blau Monuments
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Stele of Ushumgal
Further reading
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Bahrani Z., "Performativity and the image: Narrative, representation and the Uruk Vase, in Leaving No Stones Unturned: Essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in Honor of Donald P. Hansen, E. Ehrenberged., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, pp. 15-22, 2002
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Bernbeck R., Pollock S., "Reflections on the historiography of 4th millennium Mesopotamia", in Material Culture and Mental Spheres, A. Hausleiter, S. Kerner, B. Müller-Neuhof eds., Ugarit Verlag, Münster, pp. 171-204, 2002
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[4]Chau, My, "The cylindrical Warka Vase and cylinder seals: repetition and reference as visual strategies of communication in the ancient Near East", The Berkeley McNair Research Journal 15, 2008
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Crawford H., "A note on the vegetation on the Uruk Vase, Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture 2, pp. 73-76, 1985
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Hockmann, Daniel, "Die Warka-Vase eine neue Interpretation", Altorientalische Forschungen 35.2, pp. 326-336, 2009
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Suter C., "Human, divine or both? The Uruk Vase and the problem of ambiguity", in Critical Approaches to Ancient NearEastern Art, M. Feldman, B. Brown eds.,Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 545-568, 2014
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Winter I., "Representing abundance:The visual dimension of the agrarian state", in Settlement and Society: Essays Dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams, E. Stone ed., Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Los Angeles, pp. 117-138, 2006
External links