Star Wars: Every Sith Artifact In Palpatine's Senate Office Explained
Palpatine's office as Chancellor of the Galactic Republic was a personal museum to Sith history, full of ancient Sith heritage hidden in plain sight.
During the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Palpatine had an expansive collection of Sith artifacts, many of which he kept on full display in his luxurious office in the Galactic Senate. Before the Republic became the Empire, Palpatine’s chambers are shown often in Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith, as he gradually makes his true identity known to Anakin Skywalker. His collection shows that he was quite brazen by the time he became Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.
At the start of the Star Wars prequel trilogy era, the Sith are a distant memory. During Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, it’s revealed that a thousand years have passed since the last time any Jedi had encountered a Sith. All the while, the Sith hadn’t truly disappeared from the galaxy but were quietly watching and gathering strength. Maneuvering themselves into positions of power and influence. Palpatine getting himself elected to the Galactic Senate is the result of their schemes and, in many ways, the Star Wars prequel trilogy is as much about Palpatine’s backstory and rise to power as it is about the stories of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The fact that Palpatine, alias Darth Sidious, could show off a collection of Sith artifacts may seem like a strange thing for the Jedi Council to overlook, especially as he keeps them right under their very noses. However, the truth is that the Sith have remained hidden for so long that everyone has long forgotten anything about them. By the time of Palpatine’s rise to power, the Sith are just legends, with most of their artifacts nothing more than relics of ancient history. By Revenge Of The Sith, the Jedi suspect Palpatine of having nefarious plans, but they have no reason to believe that Palpatine’s decor is anything more than a collection held by an archaeology enthusiast.
The doorway to one of the secret Sith Lord's chambers is flanked by two large urns, each as tall as a person, crafted from some black material. They’re clearly visible in scenes during Revenge Of The Sith when Palpatine speaks with Anakin, and again when the Jedi arrive to confront Palpatine in an attempt to arrest him. Known as spirit urns, these tall ornamental vases are part of Sith history, though their exact origin is uncertain.
In most scenes set in Palpatine’s office, looming statues appear in the background. These four figures are made from bronzium, and they depict the Four Sages of Dwartii, named Sistros Nevet, Braata Danlos, Faya Rodemos, and Yanjon Zelmar. The sages were a group of philosophers who influenced early galactic law. They were also iconic figures among the Sith, for their wisdom in the dark side of the Force.
It’s possible that the Four Sages may even have been the inspiration for the Sith themselves. In Star Wars Legends, they had a reputation for merciless laws, especially towards newcomers to the Republic, and for working towards selfish goals. For their underhanded political machinations, they were greatly respected by the Sith who created many statues to honor them. A ring worn by Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy also shows them, and they may be among the statues on Exegol in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. As figures who ascended to political power for their own cruel and selfish ends, they were clearly an inspiration to Palpatine.
As Anakin realizes Palpatine’s true identity as a Sith lord, a large bas-relief sculpture can be seen in the background. This sculpture is a depiction of the Great Hyperspace War, a conflict that occurred roughly 5000 years earlier, as the Galactic Republic battled against the Sith Empire. This war saw the Sith Lord Naga Sadow make a full assault against the Old Republic and, according to the 2014 novel Tarkin, they even managed to invade Coruscant itself. Though the Sith ultimately lost the war itself, such an item would clearly hold significance to the man who intends to conquer Coruscant from the inside, using a political coup.
In the background of a few scenes in Revenge Of The Sith, it's possible to glimpse an artifact known as a Sith chalice. This object is an incense burner used by the ancient Sith for rituals and meditation. Palpatine keeping such an openly Sith object on open display is a testament, not only to his boldness after becoming Chancellor but to the fact that Sith lore has long been forgotten by the galaxy.
The chalice was retrieved by Palpatine from the world of Malachor, a hellishly barren planet in the galaxy’s Outer Rim territories, with a dark history. This planet was the site of an ancient battle known as the Great Scourge of Malachor, almost 4000 years earlier, when it was home to a Sith temple. During the battle, Sith fought against Jedi, until the Sith unleashed a terrible weapon that turned everyone on the battlefield to stone.
The Jedi have good reason not to know anything about Malachor. In Star Wars: Rebels, Kanan Jarrus reveals that the entire world is off-limits to Jedi, and that younglings would quietly tell each other terrible stories about it. The Jedi had seemingly hoped all memory of the planet’s location would be forgotten, but the Sith never forgot.
A holocron in Star Wars is a data storage device, and Sith holocrons in particular have a distinctive pyramid shape. Before his ascension in the Senate, Palpatine collected many of these, keeping an entire repository of them. Sith holocrons are ingeniously created so that only those who can wield the dark side of the Force can access them. Because of the terrible knowledge they contain, the Jedi Order long considered them among the galaxy’s most dangerous objects. Among Palpatine’s recovered Sith holocrons, one, in particular, was the crown jewel in his collection. A massive one, retrieved from Moraband.
Moraband, once known as Korriban, is a desolate planet in the Outer Rim which was once home to the ancient Sith. Ancient ruins are scattered across the planet, including the Valley Of The Dark Lords. This is the final resting place of Darth Bane, the one who created the Sith rule of two, and the reason why, as Yoda says, there are always two Sith: Master, and apprentice. Wartorn and abandoned, Moraband was once the center of a long-dead Sith Empire. A fitting place for Palpatine to visit.
Palpatine’s red and black office may have been virtually a Sith museum all on its own, but it wasn't the full extent of his collection. He collected many, many more Sith curiosities, which he eventually stored in the Grand Republic Medical Facility. A towering hospital on Coruscant, sick and injured would travel here from across the galaxy for treatment. Later, it would become the main hospital for clone troopers during the Clone Wars and, eventually, the place where Darth Vader was given his armored cyborg body.
Palpatine originally stored his collection in a broken-down old building somewhere in Coruscant’s Works district, seen in Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones. As his collection grew and he gained political power, he eventually moved his whole collection to a repository in the Grand Medical Facility. While his favorite items were kept in his office, his full collection was expansive, with ancient Sith texts, holocrons, and other items like the Great Crystal of Aantonaii, a sacred Sith artifact.
Palpatine’s singular goal during the Star Wars prequel trilogy, of becoming the ruler of the galaxy, is reflected in his favorite Sith artifacts. It’s easy to think the Jedi are at fault for not noticing such Sith antiquities, and it’s fair to say they hold their share of the blame for having allowed these things to be forgotten. Perhaps, after all, it’s important to remember history, to prevent it from repeating itself.