Wender·Vista
Srinagar
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
on Dal Lake, in the Kashmir Valley

Srinagar

— — a city the water keeps.

— 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 summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, set on a lake surface stitched with houseboats and shikaras. Mughal emperors built terraced gardens along the eastern shore in the seventeenth century. The Jhelum runs through the old city under nine bridges. In late spring the lotus fields bloom across the northern reaches of the lake.

from the studio
Srinagar
— bring it home

Srinagar, 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 Srinagar

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

Srinagar lies in the Kashmir Valley at roughly 1,585 metres above sea level, on the banks of the Jhelum River and around Dal Lake. The city is the summer capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Founded in the sixth century and rebuilt many times, it carries layers of Hindu, Buddhist, Mughal, and Sufi history. The old city sits west of the river around Jamia Masjid, completed in 1402. The newer city, lake-side gardens, and houseboat colonies cluster east toward Hazratbal.

— informed by Wikipedia — Srinagar
— the water

Dal Lake covers about eighteen square kilometres and shrinks each year as the floating gardens and silt push in. The wooden houseboats moored along its shores were first built in the late nineteenth century during the British period, when foreigners were forbidden to own land in Kashmir. They have been passed down within the same families for generations. Shikaras — long, painted canopied boats — ferry vegetables, flowers, and visitors between the floating gardens and the ghats from before dawn each morning.

— informed by Wikipedia — Dal Lake
— the year

The year in Srinagar moves through clear seasons. Almond blossom in Badamwari Garden in late March marks the start of the warm months. The Mughal gardens — Shalimar Bagh, Nishat Bagh, Chashme Shahi — are at their best in April and May when the chinar trees leaf. July and August bring the lotus bloom across the northern reaches of Dal Lake. October turns the chinars rust-red. Winter closes the high passes; the lake itself freezes only rarely, most recently in the cold snap of January 2021.

— where
India · Srinagar district, Jammu and Kashmir
— elevation
1,585 m · 5,200 ft
— position
34.0837° N · 74.7973° 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.
15 km NE
Shalimar Bagh
Mughal garden
11 km NE
Nishat Bagh
Mughal garden
9 km N
Hazratbal Shrine
Sufi shrine
3 km W
Jamia Masjid Srinagar
Friday mosque
N
Srinagar
Shalimar Bagh
Nishat Bagh
Hazratbal Shrine
Jamia Masjid Srinagar
— common questions

What people ask.

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

About 1,585 metres above sea level. The city sits in the Kashmir Valley between the Pir Panjal Range to the south and the higher Himalayas to the north, which buffer it from the heavier monsoon falling on the plains.

Shalimar Bagh was built by Emperor Jahangir in 1619 for his wife Nur Jahan. Nishat Bagh followed in 1633, designed by her brother Asif Khan. Chashme Shahi was laid out by Shah Jahan in 1632.

During the British colonial period, foreigners were barred from owning land in Kashmir. Wealthy visitors commissioned wooden houseboats instead. The boats have stayed within their original families for generations and are still moored by hereditary right.

Kashmiri is the first language of most residents, written in Perso-Arabic script. Urdu serves as the lingua franca, and English is widely understood in tourism and administration. Kashmiri belongs to the Dardic branch of Indo-Aryan.

July and August, across the northern shallows of Dal Lake near Nishat. The blooms open at first light and close by mid-morning. Shikara rides through the lotus fields run from before dawn.

It is the summer capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu serves as the winter capital. The administration historically moved twice a year in a practice known locally as the Darbar Move.

— about the piece in your home

Srinagar holds a particular weight for the Kashmiri diaspora. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries that recognition. The Voynich palette reads close to the chinar reds and lake greens of the place itself.

Maximalist, Jewel-tone, and South Asian Modern rooms — paisley textiles, walnut wood, brass, deep teal walls. Less suited to Scandinavian minimalism, where the colour weight reads as too much for the room.

A single Large carries above a console. Above a full sofa, a four-tile Mural or nine-tile Mural. The reflection geometry of the lake suits a horizontal grid arrangement particularly well.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam. The Glossy finish is reserved for dry rooms with framed presentation. The colour lives in the surface either way.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. Avoid abrasive pads or ammonia-based cleaners. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin clear finish, so day-to-day care is simple.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work by Reid Wender, the curator of the atlas. Nothing is licensed from a stock library. One studio, one eye, one atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

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