It is approximately 20 cm (8 inches) tall, and was probably incorporated into a larger wooden cult image, though it is only a presumption that a deity is represented.

[1] The Mask of Warka was discovered on 22 February 1939 by the expedition of the German Archaeological Institute, led by Dr A. Nöldeke, in the city of Uruk south of modern Baghdad.

The Mask was found in the Eanna (or Ianna) district of the city — so named for the goddess Inanna to whom the temples are dedicated.

The effort to recover these artifacts was spearheaded by Marine Reserve Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, who started an investigation with his team on April 21.

According to Bogdanos, "An informant, an individual, an Iraqi, walked into the museum with a tip that he knew where antiquities were being held or hidden, without identifying the mask.