Wender·Vista
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileQ12950813
in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

— — the room where the empty tomb is kept.

— 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 church Christians have held since the fourth century as the site of both Calvary and the empty tomb. The current building layers Crusader stone over Constantine's original. Six denominations share the space under a 19th-century arrangement called the Status Quo. The studio's tile carries the lamp-lit gloom of the rotunda and the small flame at the Edicule's door.

from the studio
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
— bring it home

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 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 Church of the Holy Sepulchre

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 Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, on a site identified by Eusebius and Constantine's mother Helena in the early fourth century as both Golgotha (where the Crucifixion is held to have taken place) and the nearby tomb of the Resurrection. The first basilica was consecrated in 335 CE; the current cruciform building dates substantially to Crusader reconstruction completed in 1149. The church sits within the Old City of Jerusalem, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

— the stone

At the church's center stands the Edicule, the small marble shrine over the rock-cut tomb. The current Edicule was rebuilt in 1810 after a fire and restored between 2016 and 2017 by a team from the National Technical University of Athens, who briefly opened the burial slab for the first time in centuries. The rotunda above it, the Anastasis, holds a dome rebuilt in 1870 and renovated again in 1997. The Stone of Anointing lies inside the main entrance, replaced in 1810.

— the visit

Six Christian denominations share the church under the Status Quo, an arrangement formalized in 1853 that fixes each community's rights of use, procession, and repair to the inch. The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic (Franciscan), and Armenian Apostolic communities hold the major shares; Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopian Orthodox hold smaller ones. Two Muslim families have kept the key and opened the door each morning since the time of Saladin. Entry is free; the church opens early and closes in the evening, with hours that vary by season.

— where
Israel · Old City, Jerusalem
— elevation
760 m · 2,493 ft
— position
31.7784° N · 35.2298° 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.
0.3 km SE
Western Wall
Jewish holy site
0.4 km E
Dome of the Rock
Islamic shrine
0.2 km E
Via Dolorosa
pilgrimage route
1 km E
Mount of Olives
ridge
0.5 km N
Garden Tomb
alternative tomb site
N
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Western Wall
Dome of the Rock
Via Dolorosa
Mount of Olives
Garden Tomb
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Church of the Holy Sepulchre — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Status Quo, formalized in 1853 by Ottoman decree, fixes each community's rights inside the building. It governs which group celebrates which liturgy, when, and where, to prevent the disputes that flared for centuries.

A wooden ladder on a window ledge above the main entrance. It has stood there since at least 1757 because no denomination may move it without the others' consent under the Status Quo.

Saladin entrusted the door's key to one local Muslim family and the opening of the door to another in 1187, to keep the Christian denominations from arguing over access. The Joudeh and Nuseibeh families have held the roles since.

The small marble shrine inside the rotunda that encloses the rock-cut tomb. It was rebuilt in 1810 after a fire and restored between 2016 and 2017 by a Greek conservation team, who briefly opened the burial slab.

Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, identified the site in the 320s, and the basilica was consecrated in 335. Archaeology has confirmed a first-century quarry and rock-cut tombs beneath the church, consistent with the Gospel accounts.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers commission a tile after a Holy Land trip. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is a quiet way to keep the pilgrimage on a wall at home.

The deep lamp-lit gold and stone tones of the artwork sit well in traditional, sacred-art, and Old World interiors. The glossy finish carries candle and lamp light the way the rotunda does.

A single Large works above a console or a prayer desk. Above a sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the scale; for a chapel wall or stairwell, the 9-tile Mural is the right answer.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash. The Glossy finish is for dry walls and framed display.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every vista in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language. Nothing is licensed in or out. The same eye runs through the whole atlas.

— 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.