Wender·Vista
Zahedan
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIran
on the high desert near the Pakistan border, in southeastern Iran

Zahedan

— — a desert city the wind keeps shaping.

— 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 high desert city in southeastern Iran, near the corner where Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan meet. The streets read low and pale against a horizon of broken ranges. The Makki mosque, the largest Sunni mosque in the country, holds the south side of the city with two minarets visible across the plain. The wind comes in long unbroken stretches, and the light at the end of the day turns the dust pink.

from the studio
Zahedan
— bring it home

Zahedan, 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 Zahedan

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

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran, and sits at about 1,370 metres on the high desert plateau, roughly 40 kilometres from the Pakistan border at Mirjaveh. Its population is about 590,000, predominantly Baluch and Sunni, with smaller Persian, Brahui, and Sistani communities. The modern city took its present form after 1918, when the Iranian government renamed the small settlement of Dozdab and rebuilt it as the regional seat. A railway from British Quetta had reached the area around 1920.

— informed by Wikipedia — Zahedan
— the air

Zahedan sits in a cold-arid desert climate. Annual rainfall averages about 80 millimetres, summer highs run regularly above 38°C, and winter nights drop below freezing on the plateau. The Levar, the so-called *120-day wind* of Sistan, blows in from late May through September with sustained speeds that have been measured above 100 kilometres per hour. The dust is fine and persistent. The Taftan stratovolcano, 4,050 metres high, rises about 100 kilometres south of the city and shapes the southern horizon on clear mornings.

— the stone

The Makki Grand Mosque, finished in its present form in 2008 and expanded since, is the largest Sunni mosque in Iran and the seat of the Sunni Baluch community's religious leadership under Mowlavi Abdolhamid. The prayer hall accommodates about 60,000 worshippers, and the two main minarets rise above 50 metres. The complex includes the Dar-ul-Uloom seminary, founded in 1979, which has trained Sunni clerics from across the eastern provinces. The exterior is a pale brick with restrained tile work, suited to the dust and light of the plateau.

— where
Iran · Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan
— elevation
1,370 m · 4,495 ft
— position
29.4963° N · 60.8629° 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.
100 km S
Taftan
stratovolcano
85 km E
Mirjaveh
Pakistan border crossing
210 km NW
Kuh-e Khwaja
ancient hilltop ruins
N
Zahedan
Taftan
Mirjaveh
Kuh-e Khwaja
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran, on the high desert plateau near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Its population is about 590,000, and it sits at roughly 1,370 metres elevation.

The Makki Grand Mosque is the largest Sunni mosque in Iran, completed in its present form in 2008 in the south of Zahedan. It serves the Baluch Sunni community and accommodates about 60,000 worshippers, with two minarets above 50 metres.

The city is predominantly Baluch and Sunni Muslim, with significant Persian, Brahui, and Sistani communities. Most residents speak Baluchi at home and Persian in trade and government, and many also speak Urdu owing to the long border traffic with Pakistan.

The Levar, the so-called *120-day wind*, blows from the northwest across the Sistan basin from late May through September. Sustained speeds above 100 kilometres per hour are common, and dust storms last for days at a time.

The modern city took its present form after 1918, when the small settlement of Dozdab was renamed Zahedan and rebuilt as the seat of the new Sistan and Baluchestan region. The railway from British Quetta had reached it around 1920.

— about the piece in your home

It can be. Zahedan is a deeply specific place for the Baluch community and for families with roots in the southeastern provinces. The desert palette and Makki silhouette are widely recognised. A Small or Medium carries well.

The palette reads warm and arid: sand, pale brick, deep dusk blue. It sits well in Persian-modern interiors, in earthen Mediterranean rooms, and in desert-modern homes where the mosque silhouette becomes the focal point.

Desert-architecture art and Islamic-heritage motifs have been steady currents in regional gifting and styling for several seasons. The piece sits in that line without leaning on novelty.

A single Large reads cleanly above a standard sofa. The 4-tile Mural carries the long horizon of the plateau. A 9-tile Mural fills a feature wall in a foyer or majlis-style sitting room.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any vertical installation in a humid or splash-prone room. The colour lives in the surface and will not lift with normal cleaning.

A soft microfibre cloth, dry or barely damp with water, is all that is needed. Skip abrasive pads and citrus cleaners. The thin glossy finish shrugs off fingerprints and dust.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is curated by Reid Wender and produced in our Knoxville studio. We do not license images in or out. Each tile is hand-finished in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

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