Death by Stone is rooted in St. Stephen’s Day folklore and the ritual killing of the wren on 26 December. Legend claims the wren’s song betrayed Saint Stephen, revealing his hiding place and leading to death by stoning. On that day, communities returned to the act each year, turning the bird into both scapegoat and charm. The form is intentionally fragmented and reassembled, not anatomically “correct” but story-correct, rearranged the way myth rearranges truth. A fire agate settles naturally into the head, where the wren’s pale stripe behind the eye seems to flow into the stone, shifting from mark to talisman. Long linked with protection and grounding, it becomes an inversion of fate, what was once stilled by stones now bears stone as witness. With screw-fixed, interchangeable backs, the work can be worn as either a brooch or a ring.
Design and carving: Céline MunissoPolishing & fabrication: Henry Le Page
Product: Brooch transformable into a ring (on request)
Materials: Sterling silver, stainless steel, fire agate
Mesurements: 7,5 cm x 5 cm x 1,5 cm
Weight: 42.4 g