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| Home > Online Magazine > Soapstone sculpture > The History of Soapstone |
History |
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| "Stargazing" K. Muhr, 49cm |
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3000 years ago Chinese artists were already working with soapstone. |
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What's more amazing is that some of these pieces survive to the present day in a perfect state of conservation.
Being geologically stable, solid, and unaffected by humidity, these stone pieces have been able to survive centuries and cultures to give a rare insight into their cultures. |
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A world tour of soapstone artists. |
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Not only popular in China, but also in Africa and Iran, soapstone is the artisans choice by excellence. In Asia the tradition of working with soapstone goes back thousands of years as we have seen above, not only for the creation of pieces of art but for cooking utensils, plates, vases, teapots, or boxes. In China, it was during the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) in particular that the use of soapstone had its boom, here it replaced the use of jade which was much more expensive. Ancient Greece and in particular the Cretan artisans also had recourse to this stone for the production of receptacles and stamps - many are on display at the Museum of Crete in Heraklion.
The Indians, Afghans, Egyptians, and even Vikings used soapstone to make jewellery or silver bars. In Africa soapstone figures had their glory days in Zimbabwe between the 11th and 16th centuries.
The fact that this stone is so easily worked - not only in terms of effort, but with tools, gives rise to the variety of pieces seen around the world. |
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| "The snake woman" by P. Belt,30 cm |
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| Until then unknown in western art, soapstone appeared in Europe in the 17th century. First of all it was used in craftwork, from where it moved into Art Deco where the research into new forms loved new materials. These days apart from its use in sculpture, soapstone is also used in traditional cooking pans in Scandinavian countries. |
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| Soapstone work at Art college |
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Brazilian, Chinese, Indian - a stone of multiple origins. |
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| Soapstone comes from all over the world, but mostly from Brazil, China, India, although some also comes from Australia and Canada, and some from closer to home in Germany. Stones from different countries have different properties, but all are chosen according to their quality. |
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| "Bear" by B. Mattern |
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Gerstaecker soapstone currently comes from Brazil, India, China, and North Africa. |
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Ten times softer than diamond. |
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| "Plastic representation" by A. L Löffelbein |
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Soapstone which is 1 on the hardness scale, compared with 10 for diamond is nonetheless quite hard. Its trick is to combine softness with solidity - this stone is quite widely used in industry and technical domains - used in construction as an insulator for example or in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to make talcum.
Soapstone, so called because it feels like a dry bar of soap, is also known by its chemical name of steatite (from the Greek 'steatos' or grease), or sometimes as oil stone. A malleable stone, with an exceptional density, this stone weighs 3g/cm3. It's only after polishing that the stone reveals its true colours and finish.
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