shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIraq

on a Tigris bend southeast of Baghdad

Ctesiphon

Name: Ctesiphon — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — an arch that outlasted its city.

— 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

— 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

“What stands is the arch. Taq Kasra, the vaulted hall of the Sasanian throne, rises about thirty-seven meters of unreinforced brickwork over a meadow on the Tigris southeast of Baghdad. The city around it is gone. Sheep graze where the king once held court. The vault has held the same curve for sixteen hundred years, longer than the empire that built it. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Ctesiphon, 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 Ctesiphon

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

Ctesiphon sits roughly 35 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, on a sharp eastern bend of the Tigris near the modern town of Salman Pak. For more than 800 years it served as a winter capital — first of the Parthian Empire, then, from the 3rd century CE, of the Sasanians who succeeded them. At its peak it was among the largest cities in the world. The site was taken by Arab forces in 637 CE after the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, and stone was steadily quarried away to build early Baghdad.

— informed by Wikipedia — Ctesiphon

— the stone

Taq Kasra is what remains: the iwan of the royal audience hall, a single brick vault rising about 37 meters above the plain with a clear span of roughly 26 meters. It is widely cited as the largest single-span vault of unreinforced brickwork ever built and stood intact until a flood collapsed the northern wing in 1888. The brick is set in a steep ascending curve without centering, a technique Sasanian masons used at scale.

— informed by Wikipedia — Taq Kasra

— the year

Founded as a military camp opposite the Hellenistic city of Seleucia, Ctesiphon grew into a royal capital under the Parthian Arsacids and was rebuilt several times after Roman armies sacked it in 165, 198, and 283 CE. The Sasanian court expanded the palace complex through the 6th century; the iwan is conventionally dated to that era. By the 9th century the surrounding city had been largely abandoned, its bricks reused in nearby Baghdad and al-Mada'in.

— informed by Britannica — Ctesiphon

— where

Iraq · Salman Pak, Baghdad Governorate

— elevation

31 m · 102 ft

— position

33.0906° N · 44.5806° 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 NW

Baghdad

capital city

2 km N

Salman Pak

modern town

120 km W

Karbala

holy city

Ctesiphon

Baghdad

Salman Pak

Karbala

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

The surviving vaulted hall of the Sasanian royal palace at Ctesiphon. A single brick vault about 37 meters tall with a clear span near 26 meters, widely cited as the largest single-span unreinforced brick vault ever built.

On a bend of the Tigris about 35 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, near the modern town of Salman Pak in Iraq. The site lies on the river's eastern bank.

From around the 2nd century BCE under the Parthians, then under the Sasanians from the 3rd century CE until the Arab conquest in 637. For more than 800 years it served as a winter capital of the Iranian world.

After 637 CE, the founders of nearby Baghdad quarried Ctesiphon for brick and stone. The surrounding city was largely abandoned by the 9th century, leaving the great vault standing alone on the floodplain.

Most of the iwan still stands, but the northern wing collapsed in a Tigris flood in 1888. Iraqi and international restoration work has stabilized the remaining vault in recent decades.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The piece treats the arch as itself — what remains, in its meadow — rather than as a ruin postcard. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads with the weight the place asks for.

The warm brick and pale plain register against Persian-modern, Earth-tone Minimalist, and Library-Maximalist rooms. It also holds well in a quiet hallway against limewashed walls.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large carries the wall. To give the vault its full height, the 9-tile Mural works in a stairwell or a tall entryway; the 4-tile Mural reads well above a long console.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both handle steam and scrubbing. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall display, not wet rooms.

A microfibre cloth and water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia-based sprays. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license artwork in or out.

— if this one stayed with you