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• n  a soft heavy compact variety of talc having a soapy feel; used to make hearths and tabletops and ornaments

• The men supplemented their farmwork by smelting iron ore and smithing it into tools and cookware; by shaping soapstone into lamps, bowls and pots; by crafting jewelry; and by .
• He sculpted their squat figures in bizarre oriental costumes, twisted and tormented in soapstone (which is soft when quarried, grows hard with age).
• Boys still wash up in tin basins at long soapstone sinks where hot water taps are few.

• soaprock
• soap-rock
• steatite

News & Articles

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• Appraised for $100,000 and sold for $2,235,000
  Michaan's Auctions, an auction house in Alameda, recently sold two items that set world records. The first and most notable piece is a soapstone figural carving of Tang Ying which was appraised at $100,000-150,000.   The substantial piece dates to the 18th century and displays a range of detailed carving workmanship.   The central figure of the carving is Tang Ying, the most innovative and ...
  June 29, 2013 - WPXI Pittsburgh
• Soapstone Carving Soars To $2.2 Million At Michaan’s
  ALAMEDA, CALIF. — A soapstone carving depicting the Qing dynasty porcelain kiln supervisor Tang Yin, commissioned for his 70th birthday, attained $2,235,000, including buyer’s premium, at Michaan’s Sunday, June 23, Asian arts auction.
  June 25, 2013 - Antiques and the Arts