shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileAzerbaijan

in western Azerbaijan, at the foot of the Lesser Caucasus

Ganja

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

— a city that keeps its poets close.

— 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

“Azerbaijan's second city, set on the Ganja River where it slides down from the Lesser Caucasus. The old town keeps Nizami's mausoleum, the Javad Khan square, and a 17th-century brick mosque all within walking distance. Travellers who pass through tend to stay a day longer than they planned.

from the studio

— bring it home

Ganja, 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 Ganja

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

Ganja sits about 370 km west of Baku in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus, at roughly 400 metres elevation. It is Azerbaijan's second-largest city by population, with around 335,000 residents, and has been continuously settled since at least the 5th century. The medieval town was the seat of the Ganja Khanate and the birthplace of the Persian-language poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141 to 1209). Today the city is reached by rail from Baku and Tbilisi, and by the M2 highway across the Kura plain.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the stone

The Imamzadeh complex on the city's western edge dates in its earliest layer to the 8th century, with the cobalt-domed mausoleum rebuilt under the Safavids in the 17th century. Nearby stands the 1606 Shah Abbas Mosque, designed by Shaykh Bahai for Shah Abbas I, its squat brick form set around a quiet courtyard. The Bottle House, built between 1966 and 1967 from some 50,000 glass bottles by Ibrahim Jafarov as a memorial to his missing brother, is the city's other landmark.

— informed by Wikipedia: Imamzadeh of Ganja

— the visit

The city is reached by train from Baku in about six hours, or by domestic flight to Ganja International Airport. The historic core around Javad Khan Street is walkable; most monuments cluster within a kilometre of the Shah Abbas Mosque. Lake Goygol, a turquoise alpine lake formed by a 1139 earthquake that dammed the Aghsu River, lies about 35 km south by road at 1,556 metres and remains the region's most-visited landscape.

— informed by Wikipedia: Lake Goygol

— where

Azerbaijan · Ganja, Azerbaijan

— elevation

400 m · 1,312 ft

— position

40.6828° N · 46.3606° 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.

35 km S

Lake Goygol

alpine lake

1 km C

Shah Abbas Mosque

Safavid mosque

6 km E

Nizami Mausoleum

poet's tomb

Ganja

Lake Goygol

Shah Abbas Mosque

Nizami Mausoleum

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

Ganja is in western Azerbaijan, about 370 km west of Baku in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus. It is the country's second-largest city, with roughly 335,000 residents at around 400 metres elevation.

Nizami Ganjavi (1141 to 1209) was a Persian-language poet born in Ganja, author of the Khamsa, five long narrative poems that shaped later Persian, Turkish, and Urdu literature. His mausoleum stands east of the city.

A two-storey house in Ganja built between 1966 and 1967 by Ibrahim Jafarov from roughly 50,000 glass bottles, in memory of his brother Yusif, who went missing in the Second World War.

About 35 km south by road. The lake formed in 1139 when an earthquake dammed the Aghsu River. It sits at 1,556 metres elevation inside what is now Goygol National Park.

Archaeology places continuous settlement from at least the 5th century. The medieval Arab-era city, refounded around 859, became a major centre of the Seljuk and later Safavid worlds before the 1804 Russian conquest.

— about the piece in your home

Ganja is a name the diaspora carries. Many of our customers send a Small or Medium to relatives in Baku or Los Angeles. A Coaster with a handwritten studio note also travels well by post.

The cobalt and brick tones suit Silk Road maximalist, Mediterranean-modern, and warm minimalist rooms. The piece reads well against limewashed plaster, walnut, and unbleached linen.

A single Large covers most three-seat sofas. For a longer wall, the 4-tile Mural gives the architecture room to breathe. The 9-tile Mural suits a stair landing or dining room.

Yes. Choose Dura Satin for a scratch-resistant soft sheen, or Matte for no reflection. Both finishes wipe clean with a damp microfibre cloth and handle steam.

A damp microfibre cloth and water is all that's needed. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it will not lift or fade with cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license artwork from other studios.

— if this one stayed with you