Wender·Vista
Alor Setar
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMalaysia
in Kedah, the rice plain of northern Malaysia

Alor Setar

— — a royal town the padi fields surround.

— 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

“The state capital of Kedah, ringed by some of the flattest, greenest rice country in the peninsula. The old royal quarter still holds the shape it had a century ago: the Zahir Mosque under its black domes, the yellow audience hall of Balai Besar, the morning crowd at Pekan Rabu market. Above it all the slim Alor Setar Tower marks the sky, the way a minaret used to. from the studio

from the studio
Alor Setar
— bring it home

Alor Setar, 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 Alor Setar

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

Alor Setar is the capital of Kedah, the state Malaysians call the rice bowl of the peninsula. It sits on the flat alluvial plain a short drive from the Thai border, roughly 93 kilometres north of George Town on Penang. The royal quarter holds four anchor buildings within walking distance of one another: the Zahir Mosque, the yellow Balai Besar audience hall, the Balai Nobat that keeps the sultan's ceremonial orchestra, and the old clock tower. Mahathir Mohamad, the country's longest-serving prime minister, was born here in 1925.

— the stone

The Zahir Mosque was completed in 1912 and was for many years considered one of the grandest in the country, with five large black domes set above an open prayer hall on a plot once used as a burial ground for Kedah warriors. The Balai Besar, the royal audience hall painted soft yellow, was built originally in 1735 and rebuilt in 1898 with a tiled roof and carved timber columns. Across the square, the smaller octagonal Balai Nobat houses the nobat, the ceremonial drums and flutes played only at royal occasions.

— the visit

Most visitors arrive at Sultan Abdul Halim Airport on a short flight from Kuala Lumpur, or by train on the West Coast line. The royal square is walkable in an afternoon: the Zahir Mosque, the Balai Besar, the State Museum, the Pekan Rabu morning market where coconut sweets and pulut udang are sold under tin roofs. The slim Alor Setar Tower rises 165 metres above the city and offers an observation deck looking out over the rice plain toward Gunung Jerai on the southern horizon.

— where
Malaysia · Alor Setar, Kedah
— position
6.1248° N · 100.3678° 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.
60 km S
Gunung Jerai
limestone massif
93 km S
George Town, Penang
UNESCO heritage city
50 km NW
Langkawi
island archipelago
N
Alor Setar
Gunung Jerai
George Town, Penang
Langkawi
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Alor Setar is the capital of Kedah state on the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, on the flat rice plain about 93 kilometres north of George Town and close to the Thai border.

Kedah is called the rice bowl of Malaysia and grows roughly a third of the country's rice. The flat padi fields around Alor Setar are the visible reason for the nickname.

Zahir Mosque is the state mosque of Kedah, completed in 1912 on the site of a Kedah warriors' burial ground. Its five large black domes make it one of the most recognised mosques in the country.

The Alor Setar Tower rises 165.5 metres above the city centre. The observation deck looks south across the rice plain toward the limestone massif of Gunung Jerai.

Mahathir Mohamad, the longest-serving prime minister of Malaysia, was born in Alor Setar in 1925. The childhood home is preserved as a small museum near the royal square.

Pekan Rabu, literally Wednesday Market, is the long-running covered market in the centre of Alor Setar selling Kedah handicrafts, traditional sweets, dried fish and pulut udang from morning until late afternoon.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers with ties to the state. The Zahir Mosque and the yellow Balai Besar are immediately familiar to anyone who grew up in Alor Setar. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries well.

The black domes, yellow ochre and deep stained-glass blues sit well in Modern Tropical interiors, in Peranakan-influenced rooms and in warm Maximalist spaces where jewel-tones are welcome.

Above a standard three-seat sofa, a single Large reads well centred at eye level. For a longer wall, a four-tile or nine-tile Mural carries the architecture at a scale closer to the building itself.

Yes. Order in Dura Satin for a soft sheen that resists scratches, or Matte for no sheen at all. Both finishes hold up to steam and routine wiping.

A soft microfibre cloth and water is enough. No chemical cleaners are needed and none are recommended. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, not in a coating that could lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the atlas and the artwork is hand-finished in-house, never licensed from a third party.

— if this one stayed with you

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