When in Paris over the coming months, make time to visit Stones and Reveries: The Poetry and Minerals of Roger Caillois at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, in partnership with the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN). Running from 6 November 2025 to 29 March 2026, it offers a rare opportunity for travellers and aesthetes to step into the poetic and mineral world of one of France’s most enigmatic 20th-century thinkers.
For the first time, admirers can see nearly 200 minerals from Roger’s personal collection displayed alongside his emblematic writings. Curated by Professor François Farges, PhD — the MNHN’s leading authority on gems and objets d’art — the retrospective reveals Roger’s lifelong fascination with nature’s artistry.
A philosopher, poet and essayist, Roger Caillois (1913–1978) devoted his career to exploring the delicate interplay between the natural world and the human imagination. His fascination with minerals began in the 1950s and grew into a collection of more than a thousand specimens — agates, dendrites, septaria, onyx, and other “picture stones” that inspired his celebrated essays, including The Writing of Stones. For Roger, stones were more than geological wonders; they were “fairy objects” that bridged the realms of nature and dream.
The exhibition design highlights Roger’s view of nature as a painter. Displays feature minerals whose organic forms evoke landscapes, mythic creatures or celestial maps, inviting moments of contemplation akin to viewing an abstract canvas.
Stones and Reveries is a cultural experience beyond the expected, offering an intersection of literature, art and geology on a journey into Paris’s intellectual soul. Complementing the display are guided tours, talks and creative workshops, including calligram sessions inspired by Roger’s writings.
Established with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts celebrates the beauty of natural materials and human creativity — and this exhibition captures that spirit perfectly. In the heart of Paris, Roger’s stones still whisper their secrets to those who pause long enough to listen.
