Until March 29, 2026, the École des Arts Joailliers, in partnership with the National Museum of Natural History, is presenting a fascinating exhibition: “Dreams of Stones: Poetry and Minerals by Roger Caillois.” This encounter between literature and science offers a unique experience, where the raw beauty of minerals dialogues with the thoughts of a collector.
This exhibition—which is free!—invites us to slow down, contemplate, and dream. Because that is what it is all about: beyond simple aesthetics, each stone reveals a world full of poetry.
Article produced in collaboration with L’École des Arts Joailliers
Roger Caillois, the poet of stones
Essayist, poet, and member of the Académie française, Roger Caillois (1913–1978) was a major intellectual figure of the 20th century. A friend of André Breton and close to the Surrealists, he explored the links between nature, art, and imagination with insatiable curiosity.
From 1952 until his death in 1978, he assembled an exceptional collection of over a thousand stones, now preserved at the National Museum of Natural History thanks to the patronage of the École des Arts Joailliers with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels. These minerals, which he called his “fairy objects,” were for him mirrors of the world and symbols of creation.
For him, nature is an artist, capable of painting even before humans picked up a brush. The exhibition pays tribute to this poetic idea by revealing nearly 200 specimens chosen from among the most remarkable.
An exhibition between science and poetry
Conceived by François Farges, professor at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) and curator of the exhibition, Rêveries de pierres: Poésie et minéraux de Roger Caillois explores the intimate relationship between Caillois and the mineral world. Visitors are taken on a sensory journey in which each stone becomes a fragment of the language of nature that the writer sought to interpret. Through the collector’s poetic gaze, minerals become paintings, writings, geometric shapes, and even faces.
Agates shaped like landscapes, Italian limestone resembling engravings, onyx as dark as night: nature reveals itself to be an artist. Some pieces, never before exhibited, also reveal the “secret sculptures” that Caillois assembled himself, veritable mineral chimeras.
The exhibition closes on an almost mystical note with the unprecedented presentation of the “Anagogical Stones,” associated with texts found in 2023 that were probably intended to be Caillois’s last literary work. These writings, almost completed before his death, combine poetry and spirituality around the theme of elevation—anagoge in Greek. This is the first time that some of these texts have been presented alongside the corresponding stones.
A contemplative stroll as well as an encounter with Roger Caillois
More than just a mineral exhibition, Rêveries de pierres : Poetry and Minerals by Roger Caillois is a sensory experience. Thanks to an immersive scenography combining projections, sound clips, and poetic texts, we are invited on a contemplative journey through Caillois’s universe. Accompanied by his writings, photographs, and even his academician’s sword, the exhibition also reveals a more intimate side of this man who is little known to the general public.
Lyon, Musée des Confluences
Photograph by Benjamin Chelly
The École des Arts Joailliers, founded in 2012 with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, continues its mission to share art, science, and history. Guided tours open to all, as well as tours specially designed for children, offer a unique way to discover Roger Caillois’s mineral poetry. This immersion continues through calligram creation workshops for young and old, a “poetic gemology” workshop based on the minerals presented in the exhibition, and a program of lectures.
Among the highlights: a photography exhibition by Juliette Agnel, La susceptibilité des Roches (The Sensitivity of Rocks), echoing the writer’s thoughts presented throughout November; a round table discussion on Caillois’s academician’s sword; and several meetings with François Farges, including one at the L’Escarboucle bookstore on the book Pierres anagogiques (Anagogical Stones).
A landmark book: Pierres anagogiques (Anagogical Stones)
To accompany the exhibition, L’École des Arts Joailliers and Éditions Gallimard are publishing an exceptional book: Pierres anagogiques. This 320-page volume, edited and illustrated by François Farges, brings together previously unpublished texts by Roger Caillois and more than 150 full-page photographs of his minerals.
The prestige edition, limited to 100 numbered copies, will be available at the bookstore L’Escarboucle, within L’École, alongside a classic version available in bookstores.
Practical information
Address:
16 bis boulevard Montmartre
75009 Paris
Hours for self-guided tours:
Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Late night hours on Thursdays until 9 p.m.
Guided tours:
- For adults on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 3:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.; on Thursdays at 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
- For children aged 7 and over, Saturdays at 3:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Official exhibition website: www.lecolevancleefarpels.com/
Prices:
Free upon reservation
Article produced in collaboration with L’École des Arts Joailliers
Header photo: Agate, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), Paris, Museum national d’histoire naturelle, mineral and gem collection, photograph by François Farges
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