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Great Hyperspace War Bas-Relief

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Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Canon version of this subject.  This article covers the Legends version of this subject. 
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For other uses, see Hyperspace War.

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

History[]

GreatHyperspaceWarBasRelief-BotE

A bas-relief in the Imperial Citadel on Dromund Kaas.

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.[1]

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, nineteen years after Palpatine declared himself Emperor, Palpatine's ownership of the bas-relief had spread via rumors.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Palp-frieze concept

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

"The idea behind the archeological frieze in Palpatine's office is that it depicts an event. George was very clear about making it a dynamic and somewhat gory scene of Jedi and aliens and warriors fighting each other."
―Erik Tiemens[4]

The day before the shooting of the scene in Palpatine's private office George Lucas decided to put an elaborated sculpture in the hallway. The frieze was drawn by design supervisor Erik Tiemens and sculpted by Richard Miller, depicting a legendary or historical battle between aliens and humans, with some of the aliens resembling "grays".[5] Later in Expanded Universe materials the sculpture was identified as portraying the Great Hyperspace War between Jedi and Sith.[3]

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 this was an intentional nod to the character is unknown.

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire Act 1: Shades of the Sith
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Star Wars: Complete Locations
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 SWGTCGsmall Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Champions of the Force (Card: Great Hyperspace War Bas-Relief) (backup link)
  4. ↑ The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
  5. ↑ Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days
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