Wender·Vista
Kerch
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia
on the eastern tip of Crimea, where two seas meet

Kerch

— a port older than its alphabet.

— 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

“Kerch sits at the eastern edge of Crimea, on the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The city is older than its alphabet. A Greek colony called Panticapaeum stood here in the seventh century BC, and the kurgan tombs of the Bosporan kings still cut the hills above the harbour. The bridge across the strait opened to road traffic in 2018.

from the studio
Kerch
— bring it home

Kerch, 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 Kerch

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

Kerch lies on the eastern tip of the Crimean Peninsula, on the western shore of the Kerch Strait that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. The population sits near 150,000. The city was founded in the seventh century BC as the Greek colony of Panticapaeum, and later became the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom. Mount Mithridates rises 91 metres above the harbour and carries the great Soviet-era stairway of 432 steps to the obelisk on the summit.

— the stone

The Tsarsky Kurgan, a fourth-century-BC burial mound for a Bosporan king, sits in the city's northern outskirts and remains one of the best-preserved Greek monumental tombs on the Black Sea. The Yeni-Kale fortress, built by the Ottomans in 1699 to control the strait, holds the north shore. Above the harbour, the Church of John the Baptist is the oldest standing Christian building on the peninsula, with its earliest stonework dated to the eighth century. The layered ruins make Kerch one of the most stratified archaeological sites in eastern Europe.

— the water

The Kerch Strait is the only sea passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, running about forty-five kilometres long and as narrow as three kilometres at its tightest point. The Crimean Bridge, opened to road traffic in May 2018 and to rail in December 2019, crosses the strait at its narrow waist. At nineteen kilometres long it is the longest bridge in Europe. The water is shallow and the strait freezes most winters, when ferries stop and the gulls work the ice edge.

— informed by Wikipedia: Kerch Strait
— where
Russia · Crimean Peninsula
— position
45.3614° N · 36.4731° 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.
95 km W
Feodosia
harbour town
30 km E
Taman
peninsula
17 km NE
Crimean Bridge
road and rail bridge
N
Kerch
Feodosia
Taman
Crimean Bridge
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Kerch was founded in the seventh century BC as the Greek colony of Panticapaeum, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the Black Sea. The kurgan tombs above the harbour date to the fourth century BC.

The Kerch Strait is the narrow sea passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, about forty-five kilometres long and three to fifteen kilometres wide. The Crimean Bridge crosses it.

The Bosporan Kingdom was a Hellenistic state ruled from Panticapaeum, today's Kerch, from about 480 BC into the fourth century AD. It controlled the Greek grain trade across the Black Sea.

Mount Mithridates rises 91 metres above Kerch harbour. The 432-step Great Mithridates Staircase, completed in 1840 and rebuilt after the Second World War, climbs from the embankment to the obelisk on the summit.

The Tsarsky Kurgan, or Royal Mound, is a fourth-century-BC stone burial chamber built for a Bosporan king. Its corbelled stone passage is among the best-preserved Hellenistic tombs on the Black Sea coast.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well. The harbour and stairway palette reads instantly as Mithridates for anyone who grew up walking those steps. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is a steady choice.

The deep sea-blue and limestone tones suit Mediterranean, Old-World Maximalist, and warm classical interiors. It carries well against rough plaster, dark wood, or pale stone where the architecture can lead.

A single Large covers a standard sofa. A four-tile Mural extends the harbour line along a wider wall, and a nine-tile Mural anchors a feature wall in full.

Yes, with Dura Satin or Matte. Both shrug off steam and splash. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not fade with daily wipe-downs or humidity.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. Avoid abrasive pads and bleach. The thin glossy finish wipes clean and holds its sheen for years without resealing.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is original to our Knoxville studio with no third-party licensing. Reid Wender chooses each place and hand-finishes each piece.

— if this one stayed with you

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