Wender·Vista
Veryovkina Cave
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGeorgia
deep under the Arabika Massif, in the Western Caucasus

Veryovkina Cave

— — the deepest dark known to be measured.

— 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

“The deepest known cave on Earth. A vertical shaft system descending more than two kilometres into the limestone of the Arabika Massif, above Gagra on the Black Sea coast. The entrance is unremarkable. The bottom is a sump in absolute dark. Caving teams have worked the system since 1968.

from the studio
Veryovkina Cave
— bring it home

Veryovkina Cave, 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 Veryovkina Cave

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

Veryovkina Cave sits in the Arabika Massif of the Western Caucasus, in the Gagra District of Abkhazia, above the Black Sea coast of Georgia. The entrance was discovered in 1968 by the Perovo-Speleo team from Moscow. After decades of expedition work the cave was surveyed to a depth of 2,212 metres in 2018, making it the deepest known cave on Earth, surpassing the nearby Krubera-Voronya Cave a few kilometres away in the same limestone plateau.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the silence

Below about 200 metres the cave holds permanent darkness and a temperature near 4 degrees Celsius. The descent is almost entirely vertical, rigged with rope through narrow meanders and broad shafts. An expedition to the bottom takes roughly a week of camping at staged underground bivouacs. The terminal sump is fed by groundwater that resurfaces in springs along the Black Sea coast, traced by dye studies linking the massif to the Reproa spring near Gagra.

— the visit

Veryovkina is not a tourist cave. Access requires permission from local authorities in Abkhazia, full vertical caving competence, and weeks of logistics for any descent past the upper meanders. The Arabika Massif itself is reached from the Gagra coast, with the entrance plateau sitting above 2,200 metres. The system was nearly catastrophically flooded by a sudden 2018 inrush that forced an emergency retreat by a Russian-led expedition.

— informed by National Geographic
— where
Georgia · Gagra District, Abkhazia
— within
Arabika Massif
— 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.
4 km E
Krubera-Voronya Cave
deep cave
15 km SW
Gagra
Black Sea town
at the lake
Arabika Massif
karst plateau
N
Veryovkina Cave
Krubera-Voronya Cave
Gagra
Arabika Massif
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Veryovkina was surveyed to 2,212 metres in 2018, making it the deepest known cave on Earth. The previous record holder, Krubera-Voronya, sits a few kilometres away in the same massif.

The cave lies in the Arabika Massif of the Western Caucasus, in Abkhazia, above the Black Sea coast of Georgia. Its entrance is on a high karst plateau near Gagra.

The entrance was found in 1968 by the Perovo-Speleo team from Moscow. The full depth was not established until decades of expedition work culminated in the 2018 survey to 2,212 metres.

A full descent and return takes about a week, with staged underground camps. The system is almost entirely vertical and demands continuous rope work through narrow meanders.

No. Veryovkina is a vertical wild cave for experienced expedition cavers only, requiring permits, technical training, and substantial logistics. There is no developed visitor access.

— about the piece in your home

It carries weight for cavers and earth-science readers who know what 2,212 metres of vertical dark actually means. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads well on a study wall.

The dark palette and vertical motion suit moody-modern, library-dark, and jewel-tone maximalist interiors. The piece anchors well against deep walls and brass fixtures.

A single Large reads well centred above a console. For a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the vertical descent of the piece more fully.

Yes. Choose Dura Satin or Matte for any humid room. The colour is held in the ceramic surface, not in a topcoat, so steam and splash will not lift it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, hand-finished in-house, with no licensing or reuse of external imagery in the work.

— if this one stayed with you

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