Wender·Vista
Libreville
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGabon
on the Atlantic coast of central Africa

Libreville

— — the city the freed built.

— 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

“Libreville stands on the north shore of the Komo estuary, where the Gabonese coast meets the Atlantic. The French navy founded the settlement in 1849 with captives liberated from the Brazilian slave ship L'Élizia, who named the new town Libre Ville. The equatorial rain comes in long warm sheets from October to May. Across the estuary, the long sand spit of Pointe-Denis closes the bay.

from the studio
Libreville
— bring it home

Libreville, 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 Libreville

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

Libreville is the capital of Gabon, on the north shore of the Komo River estuary where the river meets the Atlantic. The metropolitan area holds roughly 870,000 residents, about a third of the country's population. The city sits almost on the equator, at about 0.4 degrees north. The French navy founded the settlement in 1849 for fifty-two captives liberated from the Brazilian slave ship L'Élizia, who named the new place Libre Ville. Gabon became independent of France on August 17, 1960.

— informed by Wikipedia — Libreville
— the water

The Komo estuary opens about ten kilometres wide in front of the city, with the long sand spit of Pointe-Denis closing it on the south. The crossing by water taxi from the Libreville port takes roughly thirty minutes. Pongara National Park, gazetted in 2002, protects about 870 square kilometres of mangrove, beach, and coastal forest on the south shore, including a major nesting beach for leatherback turtles between October and April. The Atlantic surf breaks beyond the spit.

— the air

Libreville sits at about 0.4 degrees north of the equator, and the climate is hot and wet through most of the year, with average highs near thirty degrees Celsius. The long rains run from October to May, broken by a shorter dry season in July and August. Afternoon storms come up off the Atlantic in steep curtains and clear within an hour. The surrounding country is closed-canopy equatorial rainforest, part of the Congo Basin, the second largest contiguous tropical forest after the Amazon.

— where
Gabon · Libreville, Estuaire
— within
Pongara National Park
— elevation
35 m · 115 ft
— position
0.4162° N · 9.4673° 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.
10 km S
Pointe-Denis
beach spit
15 km S
Pongara National Park
coastal national park
1.5 km N
Cathédrale Sainte-Marie
Catholic cathedral
N
Libreville
Pointe-Denis
Pongara National Park
Cathédrale Sainte-Marie
— common questions

What people ask.

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

On the Atlantic coast of central Africa, on the north shore of the Komo River estuary in Gabon, almost exactly on the equator. The city is the country's capital and largest urban area.

The French navy founded the settlement in 1849 with fifty-two captives liberated from the Brazilian slave ship L'Élizia. They named the new town Libre Ville, free town, in the same spirit as Freetown in Sierra Leone.

The metropolitan area holds roughly 870,000 residents, about a third of Gabon's total population. It is the political, commercial, and university centre of the country.

The sand spit on the south side of the Komo estuary, reached by water taxi from the Libreville port in about thirty minutes. It carries beaches, lodges, and the edge of Pongara National Park.

Hot and wet through most of the year, with highs near thirty degrees Celsius. The long rains run from October to May, with a shorter dry season in July and August. Afternoon storms clear quickly.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a thoughtful gift for customers with family or work history in central Africa. Libreville is the home city most Gabonese diaspora carry. A Small or Medium with a studio note carries the connection well.

The piece reads well in tropical-modern, biophilic, and Afro-modern rooms. The estuary blues and rainforest greens sit comfortably against rattan, raw linen, and warm wood.

A single Large reads at a sofa distance. A 4-tile Mural covers a wider wall. A 9-tile Mural suits a long console or a stair landing.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installation in damp rooms. The Glossy finish is intended for framed wall art.

A microfibre cloth and clean water are enough. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's own visual language and produced only by Wender Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee. No outside licensing.

— if this one stayed with you

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