Wender·Vista
Chichen Itza
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMexico
in northern Yucatán, inland from Cancún

Chichen Itza

— — the serpent the equinox light walks down the stair.

— 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 great Maya city of the northern plain, abandoned by the time the Spanish arrived but never lost. El Castillo, the pyramid at its centre, is built so the shadow of a serpent slides down its north stair on the two equinoxes — engineered light, nine centuries old. The cenote at the edge of the site was the offering well. — from the studio

from the studio
Chichen Itza
— bring it home

Chichen Itza, 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 Chichen Itza

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

Chichén Itzá lies in the flat limestone plain of the northern Yucatán, about 120 kilometres east of Mérida and 200 kilometres west of Cancún, in the Mexican state of Yucatán. The site spans roughly five square kilometres of plazas, temples, ball courts, and colonnaded halls, anchored by the stepped pyramid of El Castillo. The city was a major regional capital from about 600 to 1200 CE, drawing on Maya and central-Mexican Toltec architectural traditions. UNESCO inscribed Chichén Itzá as a World Heritage Site in 1988.

— the stone

El Castillo rises about 30 metres in nine stepped platforms of dressed limestone, each face carrying 91 steps — 364 in total, with the upper platform completing 365, the days of the solar year. The Great Ball Court is the largest in Mesoamerica at roughly 168 metres long, its stone hoops still set seven metres up the side walls. The Temple of the Warriors carries a thousand carved columns at its base. All of it is built from the white limestone quarried out of the surrounding plain.

— the year

Chichén Itzá keeps two annual events. On the spring and autumn equinoxes — around 20 March and 22 September — the late-afternoon sun strikes the north stair of El Castillo so that the shadow of the pyramid's stepped corners reads as a serpent descending the balustrade toward the carved snake head at the base. The effect lasts roughly 45 minutes and draws tens of thousands of visitors each equinox. Outside those windows the site opens daily; the dry season from November through April is the standard visit window.

— where
Mexico · Tinúm, Yucatán
— elevation
30 m · 98 ft
— position
20.6843° N · 88.5678° 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.
at the lake
Sacred Cenote
sinkhole offering well
3 km W
Pisté
modern town
45 km E
Valladolid
colonial town
60 km NE
Ek Balam
Maya site
120 km W
Mérida
state capital
200 km E
Cancún
coastal city
N
Chichen Itza
Sacred Cenote
Pisté
Valladolid
Ek Balam
Mérida
Cancún
— common questions

What people ask.

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

The site lies in the northern Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, in Yucatán state, about 120 kilometres east of Mérida and 200 kilometres west of Cancún. It sits in the flat limestone plain near the modern town of Pisté.

The city was a major Maya regional capital from roughly 600 to 1200 CE. Many of the most famous structures, including El Castillo and the Great Ball Court, were built between the ninth and twelfth centuries before the site declined.

El Castillo, also called the Temple of Kukulkán, is the central stepped pyramid at Chichén Itzá. It rises 30 metres in nine platforms, with 91 steps on each of four faces. The 365 total commemorates the days of the solar year.

On the spring and autumn equinoxes, late-afternoon sunlight strikes El Castillo's stepped corners so that a shadow serpent appears to descend the north stair toward the carved snake head at its base. The effect lasts roughly 45 minutes.

Yes. UNESCO inscribed Chichén Itzá as a World Heritage Site in 1988, citing its Maya-Toltec architecture and astronomical alignments. It is among the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico, drawing well over two million visitors a year.

— about the piece in your home

It travels well to anyone with ties to the peninsula — Mérida, Valladolid, the cenote country. The piece reads as the limestone-and-jungle Yucatán of the great Maya plain, not the resort coast. A Medium with a handwritten note carries cleanly.

The piece sits comfortably in jewel-tone maximalist, warm Mediterranean, and library rooms. The greens and ochres hold against terracotta, dark wood, and unbleached linen. It reads well as a single focal Large or paired with a smaller architectural piece.

Yes. Warm Mediterranean palettes lean on stone, foliage, and golden light, which is the register Chichén Itzá carries. A Large above a sideboard or a 4-tile Mural across a dining wall both anchor a room without crowding it.

A single Large reads well above a standard sofa. For wider walls, the 4-tile Mural carries the scale; for a long sectional, the 9-tile Mural holds the room. The Medium suits a console or hallway.

Yes. Order Dura Satin or Matte for rooms with steam, splash, or daily scrubbing. The colour lives beneath a sealed finish, so the piece tolerates kitchen backsplash and bathroom use without losing its surface over time.

A soft microfibre cloth and water is all the surface needs. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based cleaners, which can dull the finish over time. Light scrubbing on Dura Satin or Matte is fine for everyday kitchen and bath wear.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in our visual language at the studio in Knoxville and hand-finished there. We do not license artwork in or out — the atlas is curated by Reid Wender and made under one roof.

— if this one stayed with you

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