Wender·Vista
Stone spheres of Costa Rica
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCosta Rica
in the Diquís Delta of southern Costa Rica, near the town of Palmar

Stone spheres of Costa Rica

— — shapes the forest kept after the makers were gone.

— 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
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— 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

“Hundreds of near-perfect stone spheres scattered through the lowland forest and banana fields of the Diquís Delta. They are gabbro and granodiorite, carved by the Chibchan-speaking people who lived along the Térraba river between roughly 600 and 1500 CE. The largest is more than two metres across. Nobody is sure what they were for. They sit, very quietly, and ask the question for you.

from the studio
Stone spheres of Costa Rica
— bring it home

Stone spheres of Costa Rica, 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 Stone spheres of Costa Rica

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

The spheres lie in the Diquís Delta of southern Costa Rica, in Osa canton of Puntarenas province, around the town of Palmar Sur. Four archaeological sites — Finca 6, Batambal, El Silencio and Grijalba-2 — were inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2014 as the Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís. The spheres were rediscovered in the 1930s by the United Fruit Company while clearing land for banana plantations along the Térraba river.

— the stone

Most of the spheres are carved from gabbro, a coarse-grained igneous rock quarried from the Talamanca foothills several kilometres inland and shaped by patient abrasion and pecking. A smaller number are sedimentary, of limestone or sandstone. They range from about seven centimetres to a documented maximum of 2.66 metres in diameter, the largest weighing roughly sixteen tonnes. Their near-perfect roundness, achieved without metal tools, is what continues to surprise visiting geologists.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

Finca 6, near Palmar Sur, is the most accessible of the four sites and the one most visitors see. It has a small interpretive museum operated by the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica and a short walking loop past spheres still in their original alignments. The site is open most days for a modest fee. Several individual spheres are also on public display in San José, including one in front of the National Museum and another in the Plaza de la Cultura.

— where
Costa Rica · Osa Canton, Puntarenas
— within
Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís
— position
8.9667° N · 83.4667° W
— 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.
15 km S
Sierpe
mangrove river town
40 km SW
Osa Peninsula
rainforest peninsula
60 km SW
Corcovado National Park
rainforest park
N
Stone spheres of Costa Rica
Sierpe
Osa Peninsula
Corcovado National Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Stone spheres of Costa Rica — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Chibchan-speaking peoples of the Diquís culture carved them, in the Diquís Delta of southern Costa Rica between roughly 600 and 1500 CE. The makers' descendants include the Boruca and Térraba peoples of the region today.

They range from about seven centimetres across to a documented maximum of 2.66 metres in diameter. The largest weigh roughly sixteen tonnes and were moved overland from quarry sites several kilometres away.

Most are gabbro, a coarse-grained igneous rock from the Talamanca foothills. A smaller number are sedimentary, carved from limestone or sandstone. Shaping was done by abrasion and pecking, without metal tools.

United Fruit Company workers rediscovered them in the 1930s while clearing forest for banana plantations in the Diquís Delta. Archaeological survey began shortly after, led by American researcher Doris Stone.

Yes. Four sites — Finca 6, Batambal, El Silencio and Grijalba-2 — were inscribed together in 2014 as the Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís.

Their purpose is not certain. Surviving in-place alignments suggest astronomical or status-marking use within chiefdom-era settlements. No written records of the makers' meaning survive.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The spheres are one of the country's quietest and most distinctive icons, and travellers who have stood at Finca 6 tend to remember them. A Small or Medium with a studio note reads warmly.

The deep greens and slow stone tones sit cleanly in biophilic, warm-minimalist, and tropical-modern rooms. It also pairs well with mid-century walnut and rattan.

Yes. The rainforest palette and the ancient-stone subject hold up well in biophilic and quiet-luxury rooms that lean on natural materials and earthy greens.

A single Large reads cleanly above a console. Over a sofa we recommend a 4-tile Mural for standard sofas and a 9-tile Mural for sectionals or wider walls.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for splashbacks, shower walls, and powder-room features.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface itself, so normal cleaning does not lift or fade it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license third-party images and we do not reproduce other artists' work.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.