Wender·Vista
Antikythera
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGreece
halfway between Kythira and Crete in the southern Aegean

Antikythera

— the island that held a computer for two thousand years.

— 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

“An island of about twenty square kilometres in the open sea between Kythira and Crete, with fewer than fifty year-round residents. In 1900 sponge divers off its north-east coast found a Roman-era wreck, and in it the corroded gear-train of an astronomical calculator built before the birth of Christ. The mechanism now sits in Athens. The island keeps the wind.

from the studio
Antikythera
— bring it home

Antikythera, 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 Antikythera

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

Antikythera is a small Greek island in the Ionian island chain, lying in the open sea about 38 kilometres south-east of Kythira and 32 kilometres north-west of Crete. The island covers roughly 20 square kilometres of rocky limestone, rising to 378 metres at Mount Plagara. The 2021 census recorded about 20 permanent residents, most of them at the small port of Potamos on the north coast. Administratively the island belongs to the regional unit of Kythira within the Attica region.

— the silence

Antikythera ranks among the least populated inhabited islands in the Aegean. The Greek government has run resettlement incentives offering subsidies and small parcels of land to families willing to move and stay. Ferries from Kythira and Kissamos in Crete call only a few times a week, and bad weather often cancels them. The island has one small inn, one general store, and a bird observatory, since Antikythera sits on a major migratory flyway between Africa and the Balkans.

— the year

In April 1900 sponge divers from Symi sheltering from a storm found a Roman wreck off the Pinakakia headland, dating to around 70-60 BCE. Among the bronze statues and amphorae they raised was a corroded lump of gear wheels: the Antikythera Mechanism, the oldest known analog computer, built around 150-100 BCE to model the positions of the sun, moon, and planets. The device is now displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Excavation of the wreck continues.

— where
Greece · Antikythera, Attica
— elevation
378 m · 1,240 ft
— position
35.8610° N · 23.3010° 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.
38 km NW
Kythira
Ionian island
32 km SE
Kissamos (Crete)
Cretan port
290 km NE
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
museum
N
Antikythera
Kythira
Kissamos (Crete)
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
— common questions

What people ask.

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

A Greek island in the open sea between Kythira and Crete, about 38 kilometres south-east of Kythira. It belongs administratively to the regional unit of Kythira within the Attica region.

The oldest known analog computer, a bronze gear-train built around 150-100 BCE to model the motions of the sun, moon, and planets, including eclipse cycles. It is held in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Sponge divers from Symi sheltering from an Easter storm in April 1900 found a Roman shipwreck off the island's Pinakakia headland. Subsequent recovery brought up statues, amphorae, and the corroded mechanism.

The 2021 Greek census recorded about 20 permanent residents, most at the small port of Potamos. The Greek government has offered resettlement incentives to draw new families to the island.

By ferry from Kythira to the north or from Kissamos on Crete to the south. Service runs only a few times a week and weather frequently cancels crossings.

The island sits on a major migratory flyway between Africa and the Balkans. A small ornithological station on the island has banded tens of thousands of migrating birds since the early 2000s.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers buy WenderVista pieces for that reason. A Small or Medium of Antikythera carries the island and the mechanism's story home, and a short handwritten note travels with each tile.

The piece sits well in coastal-modern rooms, in Mediterranean interiors, and in Minimalist studies. Aegean blues and limestone whites read against bleached wood, plaster, and woven linen.

Yes. Coastal-modern continues to be one of the most-searched interior styles in Mediterranean palettes. The Antikythera blues and whites layer cleanly with bleached oak, raw linen, and natural plaster.

A single Large suits most sofas and consoles. For a longer wall, a four-tile Mural carries the island and the open sea together. A nine-tile Mural is for a full feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle the humidity of a bathroom or the splash of a kitchen. The Glossy is best reserved for framed wall pieces.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin protective finish, so it will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's own visual language by Reid Wender, the curator. We do not license images in or out, and each place is rendered once for the atlas.

— 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.