shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIsrael

beneath the Foundation Stone, in Jerusalem's Old City

Well of Souls

— — the dark the city is built around.

— 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

“A small chamber carved into the limestone beneath the Foundation Stone, under the gold dome of the Haram al-Sharif. Pilgrims of three faiths have stood near it for more than a thousand years, looking up at the rock and down at the short stair. The room is quieter than the courtyard above. Light arrives in slow sheets.

from the studio

— bring it home

Well of Souls, 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 Well of Souls

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 cave sits beneath the Foundation Stone, the bedrock outcrop at the centre of the Dome of the Rock, completed in 691 CE on the platform Jews and Christians call the Temple Mount and Muslims call al-Haram al-Sharif. The chamber measures roughly four and a half metres across and stands about a metre and a half high, reached by a short stair on the southern side. The Old City of Jerusalem, of which the platform is the highest point, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1981.

— informed by UNESCO — Old City of Jerusalem, Wikipedia — Dome of the Rock

— the stone

The bedrock here is Jerusalem limestone, the pale stratified stone the entire Old City is cut from and built with. Centuries of footfall have polished the floor of the chamber smooth. The ceiling carries old tool marks and small niches that historians associate with ritual use in the early Islamic period. Above, the rock itself rises about a metre and a half above the surrounding floor of the Dome and has been left exposed since the building was completed under the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik.

— informed by Wikipedia — Foundation Stone

— the silence

Visiting hours for non-Muslims are short, typically two windows in the morning and one in the early afternoon, and the cave itself is closed to non-Muslim visitors. The platform is administered by the Jordanian Waqf in coordination with Israeli security at the gates. Inside the Dome, the rock and the chamber beneath it sit at the centre of the floor within a circular ambulatory, and the sound of the courtyard outside falls away as soon as the door closes behind a visitor.

— informed by Wikipedia — Temple Mount

— where

Israel · Old City, Jerusalem

— position

31.7780° N · 35.2354° 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.

at the lake

Western Wall

Jewish holy site

at the lake

Al-Aqsa Mosque

mosque

1 km W

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

church

1 km E

Mount of Olives

hill

Well of Souls

Western Wall

Al-Aqsa Mosque

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Mount of Olives

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Well of Souls — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

A small natural cavity beneath the Foundation Stone inside the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The chamber is reached by a short stair on the south side of the rock and lies within the wider Temple Mount platform.

The Arabic name Bir el-Arwah translates as well of souls. Medieval Islamic tradition held that the spirits of the dead gather there to pray, an association still attached to the chamber in religious literature today.

The cave itself is currently closed to non-Muslim visitors, and access for Muslim worshippers is controlled by the Jordanian Waqf. Non-Muslims may visit the platform during limited morning and early-afternoon windows.

Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition all attach significance to the rock above the chamber. Jews identify it with the Foundation Stone of the Temple, Muslims with the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey, and Christians with Old Testament events.

The Dome was completed in 691 CE under the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik. It is one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture still standing and has been continuously maintained for more than thirteen centuries.

Yes. The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, including the Temple Mount platform and the Dome of the Rock above the chamber, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1981.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with family in the Old City or pilgrimage memories of the platform. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is often the right shape.

The deep ambers and lamplit golds sit comfortably in warm-traditional, Jewel-tone, and Library-modern rooms. The piece pairs with leather, walnut, and brushed brass without competing for the eye.

The warm-traditional return brought ambers and saturated reds back into living rooms over the last two seasons. The tile reads as an heirloom inside that palette, not as a trend piece.

A single Large reads well above a console or narrow sideboard. Above a full sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the wall; a nine-tile Mural suits long walls in larger rooms.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and suited to vertical installations in showers, backsplashes, and powder rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and water are all the surface needs. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour lives in the surface and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every piece is original work by Reid Wender, hand-finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license images in or out.

— if this one stayed with you