According to 13th century Naumburg chronicles, Uta's father married her off to Eckard II in around 1026, the younger brother of Margrave Herman I of Meissen — presumably for political reasons, [citation needed] in order to further promote the rise of the Ascanian dynasty.

Eckard, a loyal supporter of the Salian king Henry III, succeeded his brother-in-law Theoderic II as Margrave of Lusatia and in 1038 also assumed the rule in Meissen upon the death of his elder brother.

Similar to the Bamberg Horseman, the individual depiction, part of a semicircle of twelve donor portraits, is today generally considered a masterpiece of Gothic art.

From the early 20th century onwards, the idealised picture of Uta with the distinctive collar upturned was published in numerous art history and travel guides, becoming an icon of the "genuine" German character and culture — often contrasted with the Naumburg statue of Margravine Regelinda as the stereotypical "smiling Polish woman".

Her portrait was appropriated by the Nazi regime as a counter-image to so-called "degenerate art"; it appeared as an "Aryan" role model in Fritz Hippler's film The Eternal Jew and as a SS cult object in World War II propaganda.