Two Hand Carved Soapstone Elephants

A PAIR OF HAND CARVED SOAPSTONE ELEPHANTS. ONE WITH TRUNK RESTING ON FOOT. THE OTHERS TRUNK HELD ALOFT.
 
SIZE: LARGER: 10CM LONG 10CM HIGH 4CM WIDE
SMALLER: 7CM LONG 7CM HIGH 3CM WIDE
 
CONDITION: SOME MINOR CHIPS TO SOAPSTONE. STILL IN GOOD CONDITION.
 
SOAPSTONE:
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock. It has the same visual speckled look like granite but is a lot softer. Soapstone almost always has a muted gray, gray-blue, brown with grey blacks flecks or gray-green color. It often has white veins running across the stone, and sometimes has swirls of white or quartz. Brown Soapstone is a brown/clay color stone which can have flecks in the stone. The Brown Soapstone is smooth polished and originates from Zimbabwe.Sopastone feels distinctly cool to the touch at room temperature this is oneway to identify.
There are two different materials popularly called soapstone. The first being Talc, the softest mineral on earth, mostly used in the manufacturing of cosmetics, and everyday items such as toothpaste, baby powder and even chewing gum. The Soapstone that is used in sculptures is an alternate material known as steatite.
Steatite is composed of several minerals, but the most abundant is talc. Steatite, because of its additives, is harder than talc, and hence suitable for sculpture.
This naturally quarried stone is softer than most other naturally occurring minerals. Although soft, soapstone is a very dense (non-porous) stone; more so than marble, slate, limestone and even granite. Since soapstone is impenetrable, it will not stain, no liquid will permeate its surface. Other stones, including granite, have a propensity to soil.
Commonly referred to as Rapoko stone in Zimbabwe, Steatite is a natural soft stone that falls under the general category of soapstone. Rapoko is found on every continent in the world with the possible exception of Antarctica. Its remarkable qualities have made this stone one of the most widely used minerals on earth. Over 10 million years old, Rapoko is a natural mineral, prized since ancient times for its durability, workability, beautiful character and ability to retain and radiate heat and resist chemicals. Native cultures, the world over, have carved Rapoko/Steatite into vessels, art objects, memorial and cultural items. Carved items have been found in the tombs of Pharaohs, in the igloos of the far north, in temples and palaces of China and India, in the mountains and river valleys of the Americas and the arid plains of Africa.
 
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