In this perceptive and illustrative look at the expressive and practical use of stone throughout history, Richard Rhodes unlocks the underlying principles of this ancient material—and explains the closely guarded “Sacred Rules” of the Freemasons guild for the first time ever.

The relationship between mankind and stone is elemental and deeply ingrained in us all. Stone, after all, has been the primary building material for more than five thousand years of human history, and it continues to record our triumphs and failures. In this searching history, Rhodes—a sculptor, stonemason, and scholar of stonework—explores how stone is best used today and throughout history.

Stone presents the closely kept “Sacred Rules” developed over centuries by the medieval Freemason guild, previously available only to the initiated. Here, the rules are explained through historical examples and photographs. In these times of rapid development and expansive urbanization, Rhodes implores us to explore the essential qualities of stone that emerge from the Sacred Rules, not only to rediscover the ancient and traditional knowledge that governed its use for so long but also to find a roadmap for how future generations might thoughtfully recapture the power this material offers.

A Seattle, Washington-based sculptor, stonemason, entrepreneur, and scholar of stonework worldwide, Richard Rhodes apprenticed as a stonemason in Siena, Italy, after graduate studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. As the first non-Italian admitted into Siena’s medieval masonic guild (the operative branch of the Freemasons, heirs to the cathedral builders of Europe) in 726 years, he is known throughout the sculpture and stone community as the “last apprentice” since the guild collapsed in the mid-1990s. It was during his guild training that Rhodes first encountered the ancient rulesets called Sacred Geometries and the Sacred Rules of Bondwork, foundational knowledge from the 5,000-year tradition of stone expression. Though now branching into other media such as cast bronze, Rhodes credits his guild training as the major influence in his sculpture practice.