shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileFrance

in the Austral Islands, far south of Tahiti

Rapa Iti

Name: Rapa Iti — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — ridge forts cut by a people the sea forgot.

— 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

“Rapa Iti is the southernmost inhabited island of French Polynesia, a single volcanic crescent about 40 square kilometres in area, lying some 1,200 kilometres south of Tahiti. The caldera is open to the sea on its eastern side and forms one of the safest natural harbours in the South Pacific, Haurei Bay. On the ridges above the bay stand the stone-cut terraces of ancient hilltop forts, pā, fifteen or so of them, built by a population that once numbered in the thousands and now numbers a few hundred. The supply ship comes a handful of times a year. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Rapa Iti, 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 Rapa Iti

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

Rapa Iti, also called simply Rapa, is the southernmost inhabited island of French Polynesia, in the Bass Islands group at the southern end of the Austral archipelago. The island lies about 1,200 kilometres south of Tahiti and covers around 40 square kilometres. It is the eroded remnant of a single volcanic crater, breached on the east where Haurei Bay forms a deep, sheltered natural harbour. The 2017 census recorded a population of about 515, concentrated in the two villages of Haurei and Area on opposite shores of the bay.

— informed by Wikipedia: Rapa Iti

— the stone

Above Haurei Bay rise the stone-terraced hilltop forts known as pā, of which fifteen or so survive in identifiable form. The largest, Morongo Uta, was excavated by the Norwegian archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl's expedition in 1956 and dated by later radiocarbon work to roughly the 13th to 17th centuries, contemporary with the comparable hill forts of Aotearoa New Zealand and a sign of an old shared Eastern Polynesian tradition. Pre-contact population estimates run to around 2,000 people, sustained on taro pondfields cut into the valley floors. The terraces remain readable on every ridge.

— informed by Wikipedia: Rapa Iti, Wikipedia: Morongo Uta

— the silence

Rapa has no airport. The island is reached only by sea, principally on the Tuhaa Pae IV, a mixed cargo and passenger vessel that calls roughly once a month from Papeete via the other Austral islands, with a passage of about four days each way. There are no hotels in the European sense; visitors stay in family pensions in Haurei or Area. The Rapan language, Reo Rapa, is distinct from Tahitian and still spoken in the home. The population is small enough that names of households are known to everyone.

— informed by Wikipedia: Rapa Iti

— where

France (French Polynesia) · Austral Islands, French Polynesia

— position

-27.6167° S · 144.3333° 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.

at the lake

Haurei Bay

natural harbour

2 km N

Morongo Uta

ancient hilltop fort

75 km SE

Marotiri (Bass Rocks)

uninhabited islets

Rapa Iti

Haurei Bay

Morongo Uta

Marotiri (Bass Rocks)

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

Rapa Iti is the southernmost inhabited island of French Polynesia, in the Bass Islands at the southern end of the Austral archipelago, about 1,200 kilometres south of Tahiti.

Rapa Nui is Easter Island, far to the east in the South Pacific. Rapa Iti, the smaller Rapa, is a separate volcanic island in French Polynesia. Polynesian tradition links the two names, but they are distinct places.

Stone-terraced fortifications called pā that crown the ridges above Haurei Bay. Around fifteen are identifiable. Radiocarbon work on Morongo Uta dates the tradition to roughly the 13th to 17th centuries.

About 515 people at the 2017 census, in two villages, Haurei and Area, on opposite shores of Haurei Bay. Pre-contact population estimates run to around 2,000 before sustained European contact in the 19th century.

Only by sea. The Tuhaa Pae IV, a mixed cargo and passenger vessel out of Papeete, calls roughly once a month via the other Austral islands. The passage is about four days each way.

French and Tahitian are official, but the heritage language is Reo Rapa, a distinct Eastern Polynesian language still spoken in homes on the island. It is closely studied by Polynesian linguists.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with roots in the Austral islands, for those who served on Pacific research vessels, and for collectors of Polynesian material. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The volcanic greens and harbour blues sit well in coastal-modern rooms, in Pacific-influenced interiors with rattan and bark cloth, and in quiet warm-minimalist spaces that want one piece of remote-place narrative.

Yes. The ridge and harbour palette sits inside the current coastal-modern vocabulary of driftwood oak, linen, and seagrass, while reading as a real place rather than a generic coastal scene.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads well; above a longer console, a four-tile Mural carries the crescent of the bay; above a wider wall, a nine-tile Mural opens the whole caldera.

Yes. Order it in Dura Satin or Matte for those rooms. Both finishes resist scratching and humidity and suit splash walls and shower niches.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. No solvents, no abrasive cleaners. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and lives beneath the finish.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in one studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, under one curatorial eye. No licensing, no third-party catalogues.

— if this one stayed with you