shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMyanmar

in the dry zone of central Myanmar, north of Yangon

Naypyidaw

— — a capital with twenty empty lanes and no traffic.

— 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

“Naypyidaw is the capital that was built in secret. In November 2005 the Myanmar government moved the seat of state two hundred miles north of Yangon, into farmland near Pyinmana, and announced it after the fact. The result is a city of long avenues and almost no people on them. At its centre stands Uppatasanti Pagoda, a near-replica of Shwedagon, one foot shorter so as not to outrank the original.

from the studio

— bring it home

Naypyidaw, 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 Naypyidaw

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

Naypyidaw — the name means roughly 'abode of kings' — sits in the dry zone of central Myanmar, about two hundred and twenty miles north of Yangon and ninety miles south of Mandalay. The military government formally moved the capital here on 6 November 2005, into farmland near the older town of Pyinmana. The municipality spans roughly 2,700 square miles, larger than many countries, with a recorded population near one million but a built density that suggests far fewer. The city is divided into separate zones for ministries, hotels, military, and residences.

— informed by Wikipedia — Naypyidaw, BBC — Why Myanmar moved its capital

— the stone

Uppatasanti Pagoda is the city's centre. Built between 2006 and 2009 and consecrated in March 2009, it is a near-copy of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, deliberately constructed one foot shorter at 325 feet so as not to claim seniority over the older shrine. A Buddha tooth relic loaned from China sits inside. The hollow interior is unusual for a Burmese pagoda — most are solid — and the inner walls carry jataka reliefs in cool stone. White elephants are kept in an enclosure just to the north.

— informed by Wikipedia — Uppatasanti Pagoda

— the silence

What strikes most visitors first is the scale and the absence. The road past the parliament complex is twenty lanes wide and usually empty enough to land a small plane on, a fact noted by foreign reporters and used in airshow footage. Roundabouts are landscaped with topiary; sodium lamps run for miles past dark hotels. The city was designed for a population it does not yet hold. After the 28 March 2025 earthquake, parts of the government quarter were further damaged, and rebuilding has been slow.

— informed by Reuters — Myanmar earthquake (2025), Guardian — Naypyidaw, the empty capital

— where

Myanmar · Naypyidaw Union Territory

— elevation

115 m · 377 ft

— position

19.7633° N · 96.0785° 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.

4 km central

Uppatasanti Pagoda

buddhist pagoda

11 km E

Pyinmana

older market town

20 km N

Yezin Dam

reservoir

Naypyidaw

Uppatasanti Pagoda

Pyinmana

Yezin Dam

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

The Myanmar military government moved the capital from Yangon to a purpose-built site near Pyinmana on 6 November 2005. The stated reasons were central geography and defensibility; the move was announced after it had already begun.

The Union Territory covers about 2,700 square miles, larger than several small countries. Recorded population is near one million, but most of the city's built footprint is sparsely occupied.

A pagoda at the centre of Naypyidaw, built 2006-2009 as a near-replica of Yangon's Shwedagon. It stands 325 feet — deliberately one foot shorter than Shwedagon — and houses a Buddha tooth relic loaned from China.

Avenues in the government quarter run up to twenty lanes across. The official rationale is capacity for state ceremonies and military parades; the practical effect is a near-empty thoroughfare most days of the year.

Burmese is the official language. Naypyidaw is also home to ministry staff and embassy personnel from across the country, so Shan, Karen, and other Burmese languages are heard in residential zones.

Yes, with limits. The pagoda zone, the hotel zone, and the gem museum are open to tourists. The military and ministry zones are restricted, and photography near government buildings is not permitted.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The piece reads as a portrait of the modern capital and the Uppatasanti silhouette rather than the colonial Yangon imagery most Myanmar art leans on. A Small or Medium suits a diaspora gift well.

The gold and deep-teal palette sits inside Jewel-tone Maximalist, Asian-modern, and Traditional rooms with carved wood. It does not belong in a strictly Minimalist or Coastal interior.

It fits. Asian-modern is moving toward specific architectural places — temples, pagodas, palace gates — rather than generic motifs. A named-place tile reads as more considered than ornamental gold-leaf art.

Above a sofa, a single Large carries the wall cleanly. For a stair or a long console, a 4-tile Mural extends the silhouette of the pagoda; a 9-tile Mural anchors a room.

Yes. The Dura Satin finish handles steam and splash and resists scratching; Matte does the same with no sheen. Either suits a powder-room wall or a backsplash.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No ammonia-based glass cleaner on the Matte finish, and nothing abrasive on any finish. The colour lives in the ceramic surface.

Yes. Original to Wender Studios, curated by Reid Wender, produced in-house in Knoxville. Single studio, no licensing, no third-party stock imagery.

— if this one stayed with you