Wender·Vista
Tomb of Cyrus the Great
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIran
on the Pasargadae plain in Fars, northeast of Shiraz

Tomb of Cyrus the Great

— — a stone room left standing for two and a half 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

“A small limestone tomb on an open plain in Fars, raised for Cyrus the Great around 530 BCE. Six broad steps lift a single gabled chamber about eleven metres above the ground. Alexander stood here, the Sassanians left it alone, and the Mongols passed it by. The Persepolis ruins lie an hour south, but the tomb at Pasargadae is older, plainer, and the one most travellers remember.

from the studio
Tomb of Cyrus the Great
— bring it home

Tomb of Cyrus the Great, 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 Tomb of Cyrus the Great

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

The tomb sits at the centre of the ancient royal city of Pasargadae, on a wide plain in northern Fars Province at about 1,900 metres elevation, around 90 kilometres northeast of Shiraz by road. Cyrus II, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, established Pasargadae as his capital after defeating the Median king Astyages in 550 BCE. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004. Shiraz International Airport is the practical entry point; from there the drive crosses the Bolaghi Valley to reach the plain.

— the stone

The tomb is built of large white limestone blocks quarried from the Sivand area, set without mortar and clamped with iron dovetails. Six broad rectangular steps form a base about thirteen metres on a side. The chamber on top is roughly three by two metres, with a gabled roof of two stone slabs. The total height is close to eleven metres. The 1820s account of Sir Robert Ker Porter and the 1960s excavations of David Stronach are the standard descriptions of the structure.

— the year

Built around 530 BCE, the tomb has stood through the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanian, Caliphate, Mongol, Safavid, and modern Iranian eras. Alexander visited and ordered the chamber repaired after looting in 324 BCE, according to Arrian and Strabo. Later it was identified for centuries as the tomb of King Solomon's mother and protected on that account, which is one reason early Islamic conquerors left it standing. The annual Cyrus Day gathering on 29 October draws Iranians to the site.

— where
Iran · Pasargad County, Fars Province
— within
Pasargadae World Heritage Site
— elevation
1,900 m · 6,234 ft
— position
30.1944° N · 53.1672° 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.
75 km S
Persepolis
Achaemenid ceremonial capital
80 km S
Naqsh-e Rustam
rock-cut Achaemenid royal tombs
90 km SW
Shiraz
Fars provincial capital and gateway airport
5 km S
Bolaghi Valley
archaeological valley near Pasargadae
N
Tomb of Cyrus the Great
Persepolis
Naqsh-e Rustam
Shiraz
Bolaghi Valley
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Tomb of Cyrus the Great — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Around 530 BCE, shortly after the death of Cyrus the Great. The exact date is not recorded, but ancient sources place the burial within the same decade as the city he founded at Pasargadae.

At Pasargadae in northern Fars Province, Iran, about 90 kilometres northeast of Shiraz on the plain that holds the wider Achaemenid royal complex. The site is reached by road from Shiraz.

The mortarless limestone construction is exceptionally stable, and early Islamic tradition identified the building as the tomb of King Solomon's mother, which spared it from demolition. UNESCO inscribed the wider site in 2004.

Yes. Arrian and Strabo record that Alexander stopped at Pasargadae in 324 BCE, found the chamber looted, and ordered his officer Aristobulus to restore it and re-seal the entrance.

A single gabled stone chamber set on a six-stepped rectangular limestone base, about eleven metres tall and thirteen metres on a side. The construction is unornamented and uses no mortar.

Yes. The tomb stands in an open enclosure with no entry building beside it; a small museum and ticket office serves the wider Pasargadae complex. Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons for the visit.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Cyrus is a deeply held figure in Iranian cultural memory, and the tomb reads as a quiet, dignified symbol rather than a political one. A Medium or Large hangs well in a study or sitting room.

The pale limestone palette suits Mediterranean, warm-minimalist, and stone-and-linen rooms. The Medium reads well against a warm white wall, and the Large carries the architecture across a larger space.

Warm-minimalist and stone-toned interiors continue to grow as a counter to cool grey. The piece anchors that direction with a specific historical subject rather than a generic ruin or column.

A single Large above a console reads as a window. Above a sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the scale better, and a nine-tile Mural makes the tomb the focal piece of the wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for steam, splash, and direct cleaning. Both resist scratching and read as soft sheen or no sheen, never glassy.

A microfibre cloth and water. No solvent, no abrasive pad. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so daily wiping does not lift it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from one studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nothing is licensed in or out. Reid Wender is the curator and the eye behind the line.

— 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.