Great Hyperspace War Bas-Relief

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This Great Hyperspace War Bas-Relief was a Massassi frieze, excavated from an archaeological dig on Yavin 4 by the Wolhanian expedition.

History

In 3678 BBY, this art piece, or a similar rendering of it, was displayed along the wall of the Sith Emperor's chambers in the Dromund Kaas citadel in Kaas City.

Nearly four millennia later, after the duel on Yavin 4, Mas Amedda was sent to the moon to acquire it, along with piranha beetles, for Chancellor Palpatine, who put the pair on display in his antechamber.

It was said to depict a ferocious battle which took place during the Great Hyperspace War, with followers of the light side and the dark side clashing together, alongside various war beasts. Jedi visitors to his office believed that it was a nod of respect towards their order, but it was actually a statement of Palpatine's belief in Sith superiority.

By the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin, ninteen years after Palpatine declared himself Emperor, Palpatine's ownership of the Bas-Relief had spread via rumors.^[1]

Behind the scenes

The original concept art made for the frieze during production of Revenge of the Sith.

As part of Palpatine's art collection, George Lucas requested a frieze depicting an ancient battle between followers of the light and the dark side of the Force, probably conceptually redirecting to the Battle of Ruusan. Erik Tiemens made the original approved artwork, which was then used as a basis for the finished frieze.

Included in both versions of the piece, is a female warrior curiously similar to concept art depicting a red-haired "Sith Witch", which was rejected as a villain in the prequel trilogy. Whether or not this was an intentional "nod" to the character, is unknown.