steatite

Examples of steatite in the following topics:

• Indus Valley Civilization

  • Archaeologists have excavated sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, elaborate beadwork, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, ceramic, bronze, lead, tin, and steatite from the ancient Indus Valley area.
  • Raw materials found only in distant regions, such as lapis lazuli and steatite, were imported for artistic use.

• Harappan Culture

  • Indus Valley excavation sites have revealed a number of distinct examples of the culture’s art, including sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, and steatite—more commonly known as Soapstone.
  • The Indus River Valley Civilization created figurines from terracotta, as well as bronze and steatite.

• The Stone Age

  • These figurines were carved from soft stone (such as steatite, calcite, or limestone), bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired.

• Paleolithic Sculpture

  • These figures are all quite small, between 4 and 25 cm tall, and carved mainly in steatite, limestone, bone, or ivory.

• Ceramics

  • Other raw materials can include feldspar, ball clay, glass, bone ash, steatite, quartz, petuntse and alabaster.

• Ancient Egyptian Art

  • Carvings  of vases, amulets, and images of deities and animals were made of steatite.