Topic > Symbolism of the Warka vase - 823

The Warka vase is a unique and large piece, laboriously constructed and carefully decorated. The images on the Warka vase are significant and have unique iconographic meanings for the Uruk people and the cult of Inana. The images reference common cuneiform practices and the iconography of the time and place where the Warka vase was made, and can be compared to other pieces of the era to understand the symbolism of this brilliant work of art. Understanding who is depicted in the images, what they are doing, and how they relate to each other can provide unique insight into the practices of the Inana cult. The aligned mating of bulls and heifers in registers 1–3 is echoed on one seal (26), and the pair of bulls is visible on two other cylinder seals (27, 24). All three of these seals have buildings with calves emerging from the inside, each building has a pole in the center of the building, and two of the seals (26, 27) have three poles with six rings on the buildings. The six-ringed post is again seen on a fourth seal (45) which contains what is clearly a temple, this leads to the conclusion that the buildings seen on the seal with the paired bulls and heifers are also temples, and that the Mated bulls and heifers on the Warka vase could invoke images or practices carried out in temples. On the Warka vase shown in the register 4 naked men carry three types of pottery and at least three of these pottery pieces contain some objects, this implies that all three types of pottery contain one or more objects, since the men carry the pottery in the same place. One of these ceramic pieces appears to be a piece made for pouring and holding liquids. This pouring vessel is seen again in an image on another vase (20), this vessel appears...... in the center of the card...... with similar features to the bearded man in the other images. This distinct beard is seen on two sculptures (61, 63), one of which was enlarged to be larger than royal men, this also indicates that the man had a special status, king or priest. The Warka vase is a special view into the daily practices of the Inana cult and the structure of their life and the importance of the various materials, animals and people that make up the Inana cult. The vase honors all aspects of their life. Irrigated water is the basis of their life, without irrigation no crops would grow. The livestock used in the temples would not stand without the crops to feed them. Without livestock there wouldn't even be men to provide the cult of Inana. Every record is important to the lifestyle in the cult of Inana, even the simple watering of plants.