shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSyria

off the Syrian coast, three kilometres west of Tartus

Arwad

Name: Arwad — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the only island Syria keeps.

— 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

“A walled fishing island in the Mediterranean, three kilometres off Tartus, and the only inhabited island Syria has. Phoenician stones still hold the harbour wall. Wooden boats are shaped by hand on the shore the way they have been for centuries. Lanes barely wide enough for two people, salt on every wall, and the call to prayer carrying across the water from the mainland.

from the studio

— bring it home

Arwad, 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 Arwad

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

Arwad is a small island in the eastern Mediterranean, about three kilometres off the coast at Tartus, in the Tartus Governorate of Syria. It measures roughly 800 by 500 metres and is the only inhabited island in the country. Settled by Phoenicians in the second millennium BCE and known in the Hebrew Bible as Arvad, it later held out until 1302 as the last Crusader position in the Levant. A short ferry runs from Tartus harbour. The resident population is around 4,000, working mainly in fishing and traditional wooden boatbuilding.

— informed by Wikipedia — Arwad

— the stone

The shoreline is ringed by stones older than most of Europe's standing churches. Sections of the Phoenician sea wall, cut from local sandstone and set without mortar, still take the swell on the western side. Above them, a small Ayyubid citadel, later patched by Crusaders and Mamluks, sits on the highest point of the island. The lanes inland are paved in worn limestone, polished by centuries of bare feet. The houses lean into each other for shade, their plaster the colour of bleached bone, their doors painted Mediterranean blue.

— informed by Wikipedia — Arwad

— the water

The sea around Arwad is shallow and turquoise close in, deepening fast to the open Mediterranean. Fishing remains the principal trade, with small wooden boats setting out at dawn for sardine, grouper, and the seasonal swordfish run. Boatbuilders on the eastern shore still shape hulls from Lebanese cedar and Syrian poplar, working by eye rather than blueprint. Children swim from the harbour wall in summer. The water is at its clearest from June through September; winter storms close the ferry from Tartus for days at a time when the southwester comes up hard.

— informed by Wikipedia — Tartus

— where

Syria · Tartus Governorate

— 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.

3 km E

Tartus

Syrian port city

Arwad

Tartus

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

Arwad is a small island in the eastern Mediterranean, about three kilometres off the Syrian port of Tartus. It is the only inhabited island in Syria, with a resident population of around 4,000.

A short passenger ferry runs from Tartus harbour, usually several times a day in fair weather. The crossing takes about twenty minutes. Service can pause in winter storms when the southwester comes up.

Phoenicians settled the island in the second millennium BCE. It appears in the Hebrew Bible as Arvad and is mentioned by Greek and Roman geographers. Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Crusader powers later held it.

Arwad was the last Crusader-held position in the Levant, holding out until 1302 after the fall of Acre. It remains one of the longest continuously inhabited island settlements in the Mediterranean.

Most residents work in fishing or in the traditional wooden boatbuilding yards along the eastern shore. Hulls are shaped by hand from Lebanese cedar and Syrian poplar, largely by eye rather than from blueprints.

Yes, the island is open via the Tartus ferry. There is a small Ayyubid citadel, narrow walkable lanes, and a working harbour. Travel advisories for Syria should be checked before any visit.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with family ties to the Syrian coast. Arwad sits in the collective memory of Tartus families. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries well.

The piece reads well in Mediterranean-modern, coastal-traditional, and jewel-tone interiors. The deep blues and worn-stone tones sit against limewashed walls, dark oak, or warm neutrals.

It belongs in the slower coastal-modern direction now leaning toward older Mediterranean references — Levantine, North African, southern Italian — rather than the lighter Hamptons palette of a decade ago.

A single Large suits a standard sofa or console. For larger walls a four-tile Mural reads from across the room. For statement walls a nine-tile Mural is the right scale.

Yes, in our Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces away from direct water.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish, so it will not lift.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every piece in the WenderVista atlas, and the work is finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license or reproduce other artists' images.

— 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.