Wender·Vista
Sun Temple
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
on the Odisha coast, north of Puri

Sun Temple

— — a chariot of stone, hauled out of the sand.

— 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 13th-century chariot of the sun god, hauled out of the sand on the Bay of Bengal coast. Twenty-four carved wheels along the plinth, seven straining horses at the front, the whole thing leaning into a journey east. The main tower fell long ago. What stands is still one of the great Hindu temples in stone.

from the studio
Sun Temple
— bring it home

Sun Temple, 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 Sun Temple

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

Konark stands on the Odisha coast about thirty-five kilometres northeast of Puri, on the Bay of Bengal. King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty completed it around 1250 CE, conceiving the temple as a colossal stone chariot for Surya, the sun god. The main shikhara collapsed centuries ago; the surviving jagamohana, plinth, and dance hall are carved from khondalite and chlorite. UNESCO inscribed the site as the Sun Temple, Konark in 1984.

— the stone

The chariot is hauled by seven horses and rides on twenty-four wheels, each about three metres across, carved as a working sundial with spokes and axle pins intact. Khondalite, a coarse local sandstone, takes the salt air badly, so the Archaeological Survey of India plugged the inner hall with sand in 1903 to keep the structure from splaying. The erotic reliefs along the upper terraces draw the closest attention; the calendar wheels reward the longest look.

— informed by ASI Konark Circle, Wikipedia
— the visit

The temple sits within an Archaeological Survey of India enclosure open from sunrise to sunset, ticketed for foreign and domestic visitors at separate rates. Bhubaneswar, the state capital, lies sixty-five kilometres west and holds the nearest airport. The Konark Dance Festival fills the lawns each December, with classical Odissi performed against the lit jagamohana. Mornings are coolest, the carvings sharpest in side-light; afternoon sun flattens the relief work. The beach at Chandrabhaga, three kilometres east, is the traditional onward stop.

— informed by Odisha Tourism, ASI
— where
India · Konark, Puri district, Odisha
— position
19.8876° N · 86.0945° 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.
35 km SW
Puri Jagannath Temple
Hindu temple
3 km E
Chandrabhaga Beach
beach
65 km W
Bhubaneswar
city
N
Sun Temple
Puri Jagannath Temple
Chandrabhaga Beach
Bhubaneswar
— common questions

What people ask.

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

King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty completed it around 1250 CE on the Odisha coast. The temple was conceived as a stone chariot for Surya, the sun god, hauled by seven horses.

Portuguese sailors used the dark silhouette of the temple as a navigation landmark along the Bay of Bengal coast and called it the Black Pagoda, distinguishing it from the White Pagoda at Puri's Jagannath temple.

The twenty-four wheels mark the hours of the day, and the seven horses pull Surya's chariot across the sky as he does in the Rigveda. The wheel spokes also function as working sundials.

No. The main shikhara, once reaching about seventy metres, collapsed centuries ago, likely between the 16th and 19th centuries. What survives is the jagamohana, the dance hall, and the carved plinth.

UNESCO inscribed the Sun Temple, Konark on the World Heritage List in 1984, citing its monumental representation of the Hindu sun god's chariot and the exceptional quality of its 13th-century stone sculpture.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Konark is one of the great cultural anchors of Odisha, taught to children and celebrated each December at the Konark Dance Festival. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries the connection well.

The deep ochres and lapis blues of the painting suit Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms, Indo-modern interiors, and warm Bohemian palettes. It also sits cleanly against a plain plaster or limewashed wall in a quieter scheme.

Yes. Indo-modern design pairs heritage iconography with restrained contemporary settings, and a stained-glass treatment of a Hindu temple anchors that pairing well. The Medium works over a sideboard or in a study.

A single Large reads cleanly above a standard console table. Above a full sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the wall, and a nine-tile Mural is the right scale for a tall feature wall.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation in humid rooms. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and does not fade in steam.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia, no bleach. The thin glossy finish over the colour layer wipes clean without polish or sealant.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished by Wender Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee. The painting is original to the studio and is not licensed from a third party.

— 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.