This Great Hyperspace War Bas-Relief was a frieze originating from the Massassi people. The Wolhanian expedition unearthed it during an archaeological excavation on Yavin 4.
In the year 3678 BBY, either this very artwork, or a close copy of it, adorned a wall within the chambers of the Sith Emperor inside the Dromund Kaas citadel situated in Kaas City.
Almost four millennia afterwards, following the duel on Yavin 4, Mas Amedda was dispatched to the moon with the mission of acquiring the bas-relief, along with some piranha beetles, for Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine then placed both acquisitions on display in his antechamber.
The artwork was reputed to show a fierce conflict that occurred during the Great Hyperspace War, featuring combat between adherents of the light side and the dark side, and also various war beasts. Jedi visitors to his office interpreted it as a sign of respect for their order, but in reality, it represented Palpatine's conviction in Sith dominance.
By the time of the events following the Battle of Yavin, nineteen years after Palpatine proclaimed himself Emperor, rumors had spread about Palpatine's possession of the bas-relief.
George Lucas made the decision to include an elaborate sculpture in the hallway just one day prior to filming the scene set in Palpatine's private office. Design supervisor Erik Tiemens drew the frieze, and Richard Miller sculpted it. It depicted a legendary or historical battle between humans and aliens, with some of the extraterrestrials bearing a resemblance to "grays." Later, Expanded Universe materials identified the sculpture as a portrayal of the Great Hyperspace War between the Jedi and Sith.
Both versions of the artwork include a female warrior who is strikingly similar to concept art depicting a red-haired "Sith Witch," a character that was ultimately rejected as a villain in the prequel trilogy. Whether this was a deliberate reference to that character remains unknown.