The Sith Chalice was a metallic incense burner used by the ancient Sith during their initiation ceremonies, as well as in certain meditation rituals. In the last decades of the Galactic Republic, that Sith artifact was uncovered during the archaeological Wolhanian expedition to the Massassi ruins of Yavin 4. The Chalice later came into the possession of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, whose public alter ego was none other than Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic. During the Clone Wars, Sidious kept the Chalice in the Chancellor's Suite on the planet Coruscant, hidden in plain sight as a common piece of art.

Description[]

The Sith Chalice was an incense burner^[2] that was used in the initiation ceremonies of the ancient Sith.^[4] It was also used in some of their meditation rituals,^[2] one of which was the Sith Fire Ritual.^[1] The Chalice had the shape of a large metallic cup with red markings, a spiked lid, and four fin-like appendages jutting out from the cup itself.^[3]

History[]

The Sith Chalice was originally located on the fourth moon of Yavin,^[2] which had been occupied by the Sith and their Massassi warriors from 5000 BBY to 3996 BBY.^[5] Millennia after the Sith disappeared from Yavin 4, the archaeologists of the Wolhanian expedition unearthed the Chalice from a Massassi site on the moon, along with other artifacts, such as the Great Hyperspace War Bas-Relief.^[2] By the time of the Clone Wars, the Chalice had fallen into the hands of Darth Sidious, the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, who led the Galactic Republic under the identity of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.^[1]

Although its contents were unknown to anyone but Sidious,^[3] the Chalice housed rare Korribanian incense. While anyone who had knowledge of the dark side of the Force could have been able to identify the incense burner, Sidious was sure that no one would recognize it. In an act of mockery, he put the artifact on public display in the Chancellor's Suite on the Republic capital planet of Coruscant, in the corridor linking the ceremonial office to his private sanctum.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Sith Chalice first appeared in the final film in the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith,^[6] which was released on May 19, 2005.^[7] Prior to the release of the film, the chalice was first mentioned in the reference book Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, written by James Luceno^[3] and published on April 2 of the same year.^[8]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (First appearance)

Sources[]

• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary (First mentioned)
• Star Wars: Complete Locations
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
• Star Wars: Beware the Sith
• Star Wars: Sith Wars
• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 13 (COR13-14, Coruscant)

Notes and references[]