Soapstone
Videos
Soapstone is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in subduction zones, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx of fluids but without melting. It has been a carving medium for thousands of years.
Samples of soapstone
A block of talc
Mythological figures carved in soapstone by Kayasark, Inuit carver, held in the Honolulu Academy of Arts
The 21st-century BC statue of Iddi-Ilum of Mari, Syria, is made of soapstone
Qulliq
Videos
The qulliq, is the traditional oil lamp used by Arctic peoples, including the Inuit, the Chukchi and the Yupik peoples.
Seal oil lamps
Sukh-eh-nukh, goddess of the sun.
A qulliq being lit, Nunavut, 1999
Ivory lamp feeder