shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCambodia

in the forest north of Siem Reap, in north-west Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Name: Angkor Wat — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the dawn that comes through five towers.

— 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 walled sandstone temple inside a moat the size of a small lake, oriented west, ringed by jungle that the Khmer kept back stone by stone for almost five hundred years and then let take half of it again. The five lotus-bud towers read against the sky long before the path reaches the causeway. The bas-reliefs around the outer gallery run for nearly a kilometre. The dawn light comes up behind the towers and turns the pond in front of them the colour of pale iron. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Angkor Wat, 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 Angkor Wat

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

Angkor Wat lies about six kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, inside the Angkor Archaeological Park in north-west Cambodia. The temple was built in the first half of the twelfth century under King Suryavarman II of the Khmer Empire, originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, and gradually converted to Theravada Buddhist use from the late thirteenth century onward. The complex covers about 162.6 hectares inside its moat and is the largest religious monument in the world by area. UNESCO inscribed the wider Angkor site, including Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm, on the World Heritage list in 1992.

— informed by UNESCO World Heritage — Angkor, Wikipedia — Angkor Wat

— the stone

The temple is built almost entirely of sandstone quarried at Phnom Kulen, about forty kilometres to the north-east, and transported down a network of canals to the construction site. Estimates put the total volume at roughly five to ten million blocks, some weighing over 1.5 tonnes. The five central towers represent the peaks of Mount Meru, the cosmological centre of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. The outer gallery carries about 800 metres of bas-relief, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk on the east wall and a portrait of Suryavarman II himself on the south. Roof and outer-wall conservation work continues under the APSARA National Authority and partner teams.

— informed by Wikipedia — Khmer architecture

— the dawn

Angkor Wat is the only major temple in the Angkor complex oriented west rather than east, which scholars associate with its funerary function for Suryavarman II. The west orientation also means the sun rises behind the five towers as seen from the western causeway, lighting the silhouette against the pink-orange sky and reflecting in the rectangular reflecting pool the conservation teams cleared and replanted with lotus in the late 1990s. The recommended viewing window runs from about forty minutes before sunrise to a few minutes after. The park gate opens at 5:00 in the high season, November through March.

— informed by Wikipedia — Angkor Wat

— where

Cambodia · Siem Reap Province

— within

Angkor Archaeological Park

— elevation

65 m · 213 ft

— position

13.4125° N · 103.8670° 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 N

Bayon

Khmer temple

4 km NE

Ta Prohm

Khmer temple

6 km S

Siem Reap

town

2 km NW

Phnom Bakheng

hilltop temple

Angkor Wat

Bayon

Ta Prohm

Siem Reap

Phnom Bakheng

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

In the first half of the twelfth century, under King Suryavarman II of the Khmer Empire. Construction began around 1122 and the main structure was largely complete within about thirty years, before the king's death around 1150.

It was originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. From the late thirteenth century it was gradually converted to Theravada Buddhist use and remains an active Buddhist site within an otherwise archaeological park.

The walled complex covers about 162.6 hectares inside its moat, which makes it the largest religious monument in the world by area. The outer moat is roughly 1.5 by 1.3 kilometres and 190 metres wide.

Most Khmer temples face east toward the sunrise. Angkor Wat's west orientation is associated by scholars with its funerary function for King Suryavarman II and with the rituals tied to Vishnu in his western aspect.

Roughly 800 metres of low-relief carving around the outer gallery, depicting the Churning of the Sea of Milk, scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and a long portrait of the army of Suryavarman II on the south wall.

The dry season from November through March, when the air is cooler and the sky is more often clear at dawn. The Angkor park gate opens at 5:00 in the high season, ahead of the sunrise window over the temple.

— about the piece in your home

It travels well for travellers who made the dawn walk across the causeway and for Cambodian families abroad. The five-tower silhouette and the reflecting pool read clearly. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The warm sandstone, jungle green, and pink-iron sky of the piece sit comfortably in South-East Asian Modern, Japandi, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. It pairs with teak, rattan, and brass.

Yes. The current move toward warmer, plant-rich rooms with a quiet monumental anchor reads this directly. A Medium above a console or a Large over a sofa carries the wall.

Above a standard sofa a single Large is the simplest answer. For wider walls a 4-tile Mural reads as one painting at distance, and a 9-tile Mural carries an open dining wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with steam or splash. The colour lives in the surface and will not fade with cleaning.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia cleaners. The thin glossy finish wipes clean and the colour underneath is permanent.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio. No licensing, no stock art, no reprints from outside catalogues.

— if this one stayed with you