Hand-crafted in the beautiful harbour village of St Aubin in the island of Jersey, this piece is from the Arcane collection.

Vitrail-RennesLeChâteau is inspired by one of the stained glass windows in the Church of Mary Magdalene, Rennes-le-Château, Languedoc in southern France.

This piece is hand crafted and mounted in an oak or gold finish wooden frame that measures 17.3cm x 17.3cm. This one is best seen for its iridescent sparkle!

Rennes le Château is a small village and commune in the Aude department in Languedoc, southern France. It overlooks the valley of the River Salz, opposite a Cathar Castle called Coustaussa. The population of Rennes le Château is less than 100.

This tiny village is at the centre of various conspiracy theories and receives over 100,000 visitors per year.

In the 1950s, a local restaurant owner, in order to increase business, spread rumours of hidden treasure found by a 19th century priest. The story achieved national fame in France, and was expanded by others who claimed that the priest, Abbé Bérenger Saunière, had found proof of a secret society known as the Priory of Sion. The story became the origin for hypotheses in documentaries and bestselling books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982) and the fiction book and movie The Da Vinci Code (2003).

The image of the church window interior is ©Jack R Johanson

For more information:

• Rennes le Château - Information for visitors

• Mystery of Rennes-le-Château

• Castles and Manor Houses - Rennes le Château

• Wikipedia

• Da Vinci Code book by Dan Brown (novel)

• Da Vinci Code movie (starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou)

• The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail book by Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh

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