shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileBenin

on the Bight of Benin, west of Cotonou

Ouidah

— — the road that ends at the water.

— 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 coastal town on the Bight of Benin, about 40 kilometres west of Cotonou. The old quarter holds a Portuguese fort, a temple to the python, and a four-kilometre road south to the beach known as the Route des Esclaves. The arch at the end, the Door of No Return, marks where ships of the Atlantic trade once loaded. Each January the town fills for the national Voodoo festival.

from the studio

— bring it home

Ouidah, 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 Ouidah

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

Ouidah sits on the coastal plain of southern Benin, about 40 kilometres west of Cotonou and just inland from the Bight of Benin. The historic centre carries layers of Portuguese, French, and Fon presence: the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá (founded 1721, restored as the Historical Museum), the Temple of Pythons opposite the basilica, and the four-kilometre Route des Esclaves running south to the beach. The town's population is around 110,000. It is recognised as the spiritual centre of Vodun in West Africa and is part of the UNESCO Slave Route Project.

— informed by Wikipedia: Ouidah

— the year

Each January 10 the town observes the national Voodoo festival, declared a public holiday by Benin in 1996. Ceremonies open at the Temple of Pythons and move south along the Route des Esclaves to the Door of No Return, where the ocean enters the rite. Pilgrims and dignitaries arrive from Togo, Nigeria, Haiti, Brazil, and the wider Vodun diaspora. The rest of the year the route can be walked quietly, the memorial sculptures by Cyprien Tokoudagba and other Beninese artists marking each stage of the long road south.

— informed by UNESCO: The Slave Route

— the stone

The Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá, built by the Portuguese in 1721, holds the centre of the old town in low whitewashed walls and now houses the Historical Museum of Ouidah. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (1909) stands directly across from the small Temple of Pythons, the two religions in plain conversation across a single street. South from there the Route des Esclaves carries memorial sculpture by Cyprien Tokoudagba and others. The arch at the road's end, the Door of No Return, finished in 1995, closes the line at the surf.

— informed by Wikipedia: Door of No Return, Ouidah

— where

Benin · Atlantique Department, Benin

— position

6.3620° N · 2.0850° 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.

40 km E

Cotonou

port city

40 km NE

Allada

historic Fon capital

35 km W

Grand-Popo

coastal town

Ouidah

Cotonou

Allada

Grand-Popo

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

On the coastal plain of southern Benin, about 40 kilometres west of Cotonou, just inland from the Bight of Benin. It lies in the Atlantique Department.

An arch on the Ouidah beach, completed in 1995, marking the point where captives were loaded onto Atlantic slave ships. It closes the four-kilometre Route des Esclaves.

A small shrine in the old town housing several royal pythons, central to Ouidah's Vodun practice. It sits directly across from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Every January 10. It has been a national public holiday in Benin since 1996 and draws pilgrims from the wider Vodun diaspora across Togo, Nigeria, Haiti, and Brazil.

A four-kilometre memorial route from the old town south to the beach, lined with sculptures by Cyprien Tokoudagba and other Beninese artists marking the stages of the Atlantic slave trade.

French is the official language of Benin. Fon and Yoruba are the principal local languages spoken in and around Ouidah.

— about the piece in your home

It carries weight for someone tied to West Africa or to the diaspora across Haiti, Brazil, and the American South. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads as a measured offering, not a souvenir.

The deep reds, ochres, and sea-blue of the route work in jewel-tone maximalist, gallery-wall minimalist, and rooms anchored by warm wood and earth tones.

A Large carries the arch as a single icon above most sofas. A 4-tile Mural opens the road south; a 9-tile Mural runs the full memorial line to the water.

Yes, on the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and steam-tolerant. The Glossy finish belongs on framed wall pieces away from direct splash.

Microfibre cloth and water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and will not lift with normal cleaning.

— if this one stayed with you

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