Wender·Vista
Dura-Europos church
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSyria
on a bluff above the Euphrates, in eastern Syria

Dura-Europos church

— the earliest room a Christian called a church.

— 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

“A converted house on a bluff above the Euphrates, in the abandoned caravan city of Dura-Europos. Around 233 AD a family wall came down, a small assembly room and a baptistery took its place, and someone painted the Good Shepherd and the women at the tomb on the plaster. It is the oldest Christian house church we know of. The frescoes now sit at Yale.

from the studio
Dura-Europos church
— bring it home

Dura-Europos church, 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 Dura-Europos church

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 Dura-Europos church sits within the ruins of Dura-Europos, an abandoned Hellenistic-Parthian-Roman caravan city on the right bank of the Euphrates in eastern Syria, about 24 km northwest of Abu Kamal and close to the Iraqi border. The church was identified during the joint Yale University and French Academy of Inscriptions excavations of 1928 to 1937, directed by Michael Rostovtzeff. Construction of the house dates to around 232 CE, with conversion to a Christian meeting space dated by inscription to roughly 233 to 256, when the city fell to a Sasanian assault and was abandoned.

— the stone

The baptistery walls carry the oldest dated Christian figural paintings in the world: the Good Shepherd above the font, Adam and Eve below, the Healing of the Paralytic, the Women at the Tomb, and Christ Walking on Water. The figures are painted in a flat Syro-Parthian style, with frontal poses and almond eyes that echo the city's synagogue frescoes a few blocks away. Yale's excavation team lifted the panels from the plaster in the 1930s; they are now held at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.

— the visit

The site itself is currently inaccessible. Dura-Europos lies in Deir ez-Zor governorate, where active conflict and heavy looting by Islamic State forces between 2011 and 2017 destroyed an estimated 70 percent of the archaeological surface, including the church's foundations. The frescoes survive only because they had been removed in the 1930s. The Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut holds the baptistery panels in its permanent collection and reconstructs the room at scale; admission is free, with the gallery open Tuesday through Sunday.

— where
Syria · Dura-Europos, Deir ez-Zor Governorate
— position
34.7475° N · 40.7281° 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.
at the lake
Dura-Europos synagogue
ancient synagogue
60 km SE
Mari
Bronze Age city
140 km NW
Halabiye
Roman/Byzantine fortress
90 km NW
Deir ez-Zor
city
N
Dura-Europos church
Dura-Europos synagogue
Mari
Halabiye
Deir ez-Zor
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Dura-Europos church — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Within the ruins of Dura-Europos on the right bank of the Euphrates in eastern Syria, about 24 km northwest of Abu Kamal and close to the Iraqi border. The site is in Deir ez-Zor governorate.

The house was built around 232 CE and converted to a Christian meeting space by roughly 233 to 256, making it the oldest identified Christian house church in the world.

During the joint Yale University and French Academy excavations of Dura-Europos from 1928 to 1937, directed by Michael Rostovtzeff. The conversion of the house was dated by inscription on its plaster walls.

The baptistery walls carry the Good Shepherd, Adam and Eve, the Healing of the Paralytic, the Women at the Tomb, and Christ Walking on Water, the oldest dated Christian figural paintings in the world.

At the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. The panels were lifted from the plaster during the 1930s excavations and reassembled into a scale reconstruction of the baptistery room.

Dura-Europos was abandoned around 256 CE after a Sasanian assault and lay undisturbed until 1920. Islamic State looting between 2011 and 2017 destroyed an estimated 70 percent of the archaeological surface.

— about the piece in your home

The Dura-Europos baptistery is one of the most studied rooms in early Christian history. A Small or Medium suits a study wall; a Keepsake carries well on a desk or shelf.

The ochre, dust, and deep red of the wall paintings sit well with warm Traditional, Mediterranean, and Heritage-modern interiors. It pairs well with walnut, leather, and worn linen.

A Large reads well above a console; a 4-tile Mural carries above a standard sofa. For a long study or chapel-style wall, the Triptych reads as three windows in sequence.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to humidity. The Glossy finish is best kept to a dry display wall.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. The colour is held inside the ceramic surface, so normal cleaning does not affect it. Avoid abrasive sponges and ammonia-based cleaners.

Yes. Reid Wender is the curator behind every WenderVista piece. The work is hand-finished in our Knoxville studio and not licensed from any third party.

— if this one stayed with you

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