Wender·Vista
Port Royal
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileJamaica
at the end of the Palisadoes, across the harbour from Kingston

Port Royal

— — the wickedest city the earthquake took.

— 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 fishing village on a sand spit at the mouth of Kingston Harbour. For about thirty years in the 17th century this was the largest English town in the Caribbean and the base of the privateer Henry Morgan. On 7 June 1692 an earthquake dropped two-thirds of it into the harbour in about two minutes. What stayed above water is what stands today: Fort Charles, a handful of streets, and the sea on three sides.

from the studio
Port Royal
— bring it home

Port Royal, 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 Port Royal

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

Port Royal sits at the western tip of the Palisadoes, a twelve-kilometre sand spit that encloses Kingston Harbour on the southern coast of Jamaica. It is about 25 kilometres by road from downtown Kingston and shares the spit with Norman Manley International Airport. The town's population is around 1,800. The harbour it guards is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world, which is why the English, after taking Jamaica from Spain in 1655, built their main Caribbean naval base on this narrow tongue of sand.

— informed by Wikipedia — Port Royal
— the stone

Fort Charles is the only one of Port Royal's six 17th-century forts to survive the 1692 earthquake intact. Begun in 1655 as Fort Cromwell and renamed at the Restoration, it held 104 guns at its peak and was briefly commanded by a young Horatio Nelson in 1779. The Giddy House, a brick artillery store half-tilted into the ground by the 1907 Kingston earthquake, stands a few hundred metres away. Both are managed by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and open to visitors most days of the week.

— informed by Fort Charles, Jamaica
— the visit

Port Royal is reached by road from Kingston, about 45 minutes through the airport spit, or by water taxi from the Kingston waterfront. Fort Charles and its small museum charge a modest entry fee. Gloria's Seafood on Foreshore Road serves the conch and snapper the village is known for and stays busy on Sunday afternoons. The Sir Henry Morgan Hotel and a handful of guesthouses cover the overnight stays. The morning ferry to Lime Cay, the small beach island offshore, leaves from the village pier.

— informed by Lime Cay
— where
Jamaica · Port Royal, Kingston Parish
— elevation
2 m · 7 ft
— position
17.9381° N · 76.8410° W
— 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.
25 km NW
Kingston
capital city
4 km SE
Lime Cay
offshore island
N
Port Royal
Kingston
Lime Cay
— common questions

What people ask.

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

At the western tip of the Palisadoes, a twelve-kilometre sand spit at the mouth of Kingston Harbour on Jamaica's southern coast. It is about 25 kilometres by road from downtown Kingston.

On 7 June 1692 a major earthquake and the tsunami that followed dropped roughly two-thirds of Port Royal into Kingston Harbour. Around 2,000 people died at the time and many more in the weeks after.

It was a privateering base under English commission for about thirty years in the mid-17th century, most famously under Henry Morgan, who served as both buccaneer and lieutenant governor. The line between privateer and pirate was deliberately blurred.

The only one of Port Royal's six 17th-century forts to survive the 1692 earthquake. Built from 1655, it once held 104 guns and was briefly commanded by Horatio Nelson in 1779.

The submerged ruins lie in shallow water just off the town and are a protected archaeological site. Diving is restricted to permitted research. Excavated artefacts are displayed at museums in Kingston.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with ties to Kingston and the south coast. Port Royal carries deep meaning in Jamaican history. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The sea blues and weathered fort stone sit well in Coastal-modern, Tropical-modern, and warm Maximalist interiors. The piece pairs with rattan, dark rum-cask wood, and lime-washed walls.

A single Large covers most sofas. A four-tile Mural reads as one painting from across the room. A nine-tile Mural is the wall piece for a long entry or dining wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for those rooms, since both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splashes. The glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth with water, nothing more. No solvents, no abrasive cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista painting is made in-house by Reid Wender and the studio. We do not license outside artwork and we do not reproduce other artists' work.

— 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.