Wender·Vista
Bhubaneswar
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
the temple city of Odisha, inland from the Bay of Bengal

Bhubaneswar

— — sandstone the colour the afternoon turns.

— 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

“Bhubaneswar is the capital of Odisha, on the eastern coastal plain of India. The old quarter, Ekamra Kshetra, holds more than a hundred surviving stone temples carved between the 7th and 13th centuries, all built in the deurul tower form that gives Kalinga architecture its distinctive curve. The Lingaraja temple still stands at the centre of the old city, its 180-foot tower visible from most of the lanes around the Bindu Sagara tank. from the studio

from the studio
Bhubaneswar
— bring it home

Bhubaneswar, 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 Bhubaneswar

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

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha, set on the coastal plain about 40 kilometres inland from the Bay of Bengal. The modern city, planned in 1948 by the German architect Otto Königsberger, sits beside an old religious quarter known as Ekamra Kshetra that was a centre of Kalinga power from roughly the 7th century onward. Greater Bhubaneswar today holds around 1.16 million people, and the city forms a continuous urban region with the temple town of Puri and the trading port of Cuttack.

— the stone

More than a hundred sandstone temples in the Kalinga style still stand inside the old city, carved between the 7th and 13th centuries from local laterite and a warm pinkish khondalite. The Lingaraja temple, completed around 1090 under the Somavamshi king Jajati Keshari, rises to roughly 55 metres and remains an active Shaivite shrine. The smaller Parashurameshvara, from about 650, is the earliest surviving example of the form, and the Mukteshvara, from around 950, holds a free-standing torana arch unique among the surviving temples.

— the visit

Biju Patnaik International Airport sits inside the city and connects to Delhi, Mumbai, and most major Indian hubs. The Lingaraja temple itself is open only to Hindus, but a viewing platform on the north wall, built originally for Lord Curzon in 1903, lets other visitors see the full tower and courtyard. The Udayagiri and Khandagiri rock-cut caves, six kilometres west, were carved for Jain monks in the 1st century BC under King Kharavela and can be walked through freely during daylight hours.

— where
India · Bhubaneswar, Odisha
— elevation
45 m · 148 ft
— position
20.2961° N · 85.8245° 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.
6 km W
Udayagiri Caves
Jain rock-cut caves
8 km S
Dhauli
Ashokan edict site
65 km SE
Konark Sun Temple
13th-c. temple
60 km S
Puri
Jagannath temple town
N
Bhubaneswar
Udayagiri Caves
Dhauli
Konark Sun Temple
Puri
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Bhubaneswar is the capital of Odisha, on the eastern coastal plain of India, about 40 kilometres inland from the Bay of Bengal. It lies roughly 1,750 kilometres south-east of Delhi and is served by Biju Patnaik International Airport inside the city.

More than a hundred Hindu sandstone temples in the Kalinga style, built between the 7th and 13th centuries, still stand in the old quarter known as Ekamra Kshetra. At one point the city is said to have held over seven thousand shrines.

The Lingaraja temple was completed around 1090 under the Somavamshi king Jajati Keshari, though parts of the inner sanctum may be older. Its main tower rises to about 55 metres and remains an active Shaivite place of worship.

No. The temple is closed to non-Hindus, but a raised viewing platform on the north wall, built for Lord Curzon in 1903, allows other visitors to see the full courtyard, tower, and ritual ground from outside.

Kalinga is the regional Hindu temple style of Odisha, named for the ancient kingdom. Its signature element is the deurul, a curving tower with vertical ribs and a horizontal stack of mouldings, capped by a ribbed amalaka stone and a flag-mast finial.

November to February. Daytime temperatures stay between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius, the monsoon humidity has lifted, and the Ekamra Walk heritage tour through the old temple lanes runs on most Sunday mornings during this season.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The tile reads the warm khondalite tone of the old temples, which an Odia recipient will recognise immediately. A Medium with a note from the studio carries well to a family settled outside India.

The warm pinks, ochres, and stained-glass blues sit naturally with Indo-Modern, Maximalist Asian, and Jewel-tone interiors. They also work against lime-washed white walls in a quieter Modern Classic study.

Yes. The current Maximalist Asian direction leans on temple sandstone tones, layered pattern, and devotional iconography read as art rather than literal worship. This tile fits that line directly.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large carries the temple silhouette across the room. Over a console table or altar shelf, a four-tile Mural holds more weight. For a stair wall, a nine-tile Mural reads at full scale.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to steam and splash, which makes them suitable for a backsplash, a shower wall, or a powder room.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so it will not fade with wiping. Avoid abrasive sponges and bleach-based sprays.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is painted in the studio's own stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language. The work is not licensed from any third party, and each place is curated and signed off by Reid.

— if this one stayed with you

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