Adamson-Eric Museum’s new exhibition makes stones speak
The exhibition Speaking Stones, opening on 19 June at the Adamson-Eric Museum, explores how stones and rocks have inspired stone carvers, as well as painters and jewellery artists, during different periods of history. The exhibition is being curated by Marge Laast.
The exhibition features previously unexhibited or rarely exhibited carved stones, models of carved stones, and works of art from Estonia’s medieval towns.
Displayed in dialogue with these stones are stone-themed works by Estonian artists, including Oskar Kallis, Eduard Wiiralt, Juhan Muks and Peeter Mudist. A special section is devoted to Estonian jewellery art, featuring works by Raili Vinn, Kersti Kristlieb, Eve Margus-Villems, Margus Tänav and Mirjam Aun. In addition, videos, photographs, paintings, prints and sculptures help bring the stones’ stories to life.
Speaking Stones invites us to look closely at stone as one of the oldest and most traditional materials in the world. “The exhibition has been made possible by extraordinary people from many disciplines who care about our stony heritage: whether found in the earth’s crust, in the form of heritage objects or works of art, or studied as material or metaphor. Artists and geologists, art historians and geographers, heritage conservationists, historians, conservators and cartographers all act as champions for the often overlooked stone fragments, enabling them to tell their rich, many-layered stories,” says Marge Laast, the curator of the exhibition.
“Alongside precious gemstones, Adamson-Eric and many other Estonian artists have used simple fieldstones and Estonian limestone to create beautiful pieces of jewellery. When these objects are viewed not only through the eyes of an art historian but also through those of a geologist, a fascinating world unfolds, stretching back hundreds of millions of years,” said Karin Vicente, the museum’s programme manager.
The exhibition’s basement level is dedicated to geology, inviting visitors to explore different types of Estonian limestone and to discover the potential they hold. Visitors can observe the remarkable diversity of limestone varieties and learn how identifying specific rock types or fossils can help solve mysteries of art history.
The basement exhibition also shows how the ancient sea shaped and engraved stone over millions of years, and how stone, in turn, has inspired architects and artists, from medieval craftsmen to contemporary creators.
The exhibition is accompanied by a diverse public programme. Guided city tours will take participants through Tallinn’s Old Town to explore stones and fossils. A series of exhibition tours will also be held. On 19 June at 5 pm., the curator, Marge Laast, will lead a guided tour, bringing the stories of the stones to life.
The exhibition will remain open until 22 November 2026.