shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileAfghanistan

in a high valley of the Hindu Kush

Kabul

Name: Kabul — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a city the mountains close around at dusk.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A high valley city ringed by the Hindu Kush, with the Kabul River cutting east through neighbourhoods that climb the slopes of Asmai and Sher Darwaza. Babur's tomb still rests in the terraced garden he chose for it, four hundred years on. The light comes late here and leaves quickly.

from the studio

— bring it home

Kabul, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Kabul

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Kabul sits at roughly 1,790 metres above sea level in a valley of the Hindu Kush, with the Kabul River running east toward the Khyber Pass. The city has been continuously inhabited for more than 3,500 years and served as a Silk Road waypoint between Persia, India, and Central Asia. Babur, the first Mughal emperor, made it his favourite city in the early 1500s and asked to be buried here. Modern Kabul holds roughly 4.6 million people across districts that climb the slopes of Asmai and Sher Darwaza.

— informed by Wikipedia · Kabul

— the stone

Bala Hissar, the fortified citadel above the old city, has guarded the valley since at least the 5th century. The British burnt much of it in 1879; its walls still trace the ridge. Below it the old bazaars wind toward the Pul-e Khishti Mosque, with its pale blue dome rebuilt in 1966. Across the river the shell of Darul Aman Palace, completed in the 1920s under Amanullah Khan, was restored between 2016 and 2019 and once again sits whole on its hill.

— informed by Wikipedia · Bala Hissar of Kabul

— the air

The valley sits high enough that winters bring deep snow to the surrounding ridges and summers stay drier than the plains below. Air quality in the bowl is famously difficult, especially in November when households burn coal and wood against the cold. Spring is the city's best season: the almond and Judas trees in Bagh-e Babur flower in late March, and the surrounding mountains hold snow into May while the valley floor turns green.

— informed by Wikipedia · Gardens of Babur

— where

Afghanistan · Kabul Province

— elevation

1,790 m · 5,873 ft

— position

34.5553° N · 69.2075° E

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

3 km SW

Bagh-e Babur

Mughal garden

2 km S

Bala Hissar

citadel

10 km SW

Darul Aman Palace

palace

Kabul

Bagh-e Babur

Bala Hissar

Darul Aman Palace

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Kabul — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

The city sits at roughly 1,790 metres above sea level in a valley of the Hindu Kush, which makes it one of the higher capital cities in the world.

The Kabul River cuts east through the city and eventually joins the Indus in Pakistan. It runs full in spring and narrows to a trickle by late summer.

Babur, the first Mughal emperor, who died in Agra in 1530 and asked to be returned to the terraced garden he had laid out above Kabul. His grave still rests there.

The fortified citadel on the ridge above old Kabul, in use since at least the 5th century. Its present walls trace defences rebuilt after the British burnt it in 1879.

Late March through May, when the almond and Judas trees flower in Bagh-e Babur and the surrounding mountains still hold snow while the valley floor turns green.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful piece for customers in the Afghan diaspora. The tile holds the valley and the ringed mountains without flattening either. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The deep indigo and ochre of the artwork sits well in Jewel-tone Maximalist, Old-World Library, and warm Mediterranean rooms. It does not want a cool minimalist background.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist water, scratching, and steam. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall pieces, not splash zones.

A single Large reads well above a small console. Above a full sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the wall, and a 9-tile Mural anchors a larger room without crowding.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath the finish, so it will not lift or fade with ordinary cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in our studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink language by Reid Wender. We do not license outside art.

— if this one stayed with you