Wender·Vista
Persepolis
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIran
below the Mountain of Mercy in Fars, in southern Iran

Persepolis

— stone that remembers an empire.

— 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 ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, set on a terrace at the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat, the Mountain of Mercy, in the high plain of Fars. Darius began the work around 518 BCE; Alexander burned it in 330 BCE. The columns of the Apadana still stand, and the long staircase carvings still show the tribute processions of twenty-three nations. Wind carries dust across the platform most afternoons.

from the studio
Persepolis
— bring it home

Persepolis, 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 Persepolis

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

Persepolis lies in Fars province in southern Iran, about 60 kilometres northeast of Shiraz, set on a partly artificial stone terrace at the western foot of Kuh-e Rahmat. Founded around 518 BCE by Darius I, it served as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes, the empire that, at its peak, stretched from the Aegean to the Indus. The site was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

— the stone

The terrace is built of dark grey limestone quarried from Kuh-e Rahmat itself, set without mortar in courses dressed to fit. The Apadana audience hall once held 72 columns, each roughly 19 metres tall, and the great double staircase carries the most complete surviving programme of Achaemenid relief sculpture: rows of Medes, Persians, and twenty-three subject delegations bringing tribute. The Gate of All Nations, ordered by Xerxes I, still carries its winged human-headed bulls. The stone is so well-cut that the joints take a fingernail.

— informed by Wikipedia — Apadana
— the visit

The site is reached most easily from Shiraz, about 60 kilometres southwest by road, via Shiraz International Airport. The terrace covers roughly 125,000 square metres, walked in two to three hours; the rock-cut royal tombs at Naqsh-e Rustam lie a further 6 kilometres north and pair naturally on the same visit. The summer plain bakes well past 40°C; the practical months are October through April. Morning light reaches the eastern Apadana staircase first, and late afternoon turns the limestone the colour of old honey.

— where
Iran · Marvdasht County, Fars
— elevation
1,770 m · 5,807 ft
— position
29.9354° N · 52.8916° 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 N
Naqsh-e Rustam
rock-cut tombs
3 km N
Naqsh-e Rajab
Sasanian reliefs
80 km NE
Pasargadae
Achaemenid capital
60 km SW
Shiraz
provincial city
N
Persepolis
Naqsh-e Rustam
Naqsh-e Rajab
Pasargadae
Shiraz
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Persepolis is in Fars province in southern Iran, about 60 kilometres northeast of Shiraz, on a terrace at the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat, the Mountain of Mercy. The nearest airport is Shiraz International.

Persepolis was founded around 518 BCE by Darius I as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Work continued under his successors Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I across the following century.

The city was burned by Alexander the Great's army in 330 BCE, after he defeated Darius III. The stone terrace survived; the wooden roofs and upper structures did not. Much of the relief sculpture remains.

The Apadana is the great audience hall at Persepolis, begun by Darius I and finished by Xerxes I. It once held 72 stone columns roughly 19 metres tall, of which thirteen still stand.

October through April, the cool dry months on the Fars plain. Summer temperatures pass 40°C and there is no shade on the terrace. Spring brings wildflowers across the surrounding hills.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a thoughtful gift for customers with family in Iran or in the broader Persian diaspora. Persepolis carries the cultural weight of the country's founding empire. A Small with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The piece reads well in Earth-tone, Mediterranean-modern, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms, anywhere honey-stone and indigo are welcome. It also pairs cleanly with Mid-century or library-style interiors.

A single Large reads cleanly above most consoles; above a full sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the field, and a 9-tile Mural lets the columns and the staircase reliefs breathe at room scale.

Yes. For wet rooms and splash zones we recommend the Dura Satin or Matte finish, soft sheen or no sheen, both scratch-resistant. The Glossy finish suits framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is enough. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin glossy finish, so the image will not lift or fade with cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is original studio work by Reid Wender, the curator. There is no licensing and no third-party imagery. The atlas is built one place at a time, slowly.

— 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.