This object is a soapstone vase. it is cool to the touch at room temperature and the stone exhibits a range of colours including reds, greens, brown and greys. Soapstone mainly refers to talc-bearing ultramafic metamorphic rock which gives the stone a soapy texture. Its hardness ranges between 1 and 2 ½ on the Mohs scale. A possible way to test material would be to create an incision, if it is soapstone then even a fingernail can scratch it. Technologies likely used to create this object would involve reductive carving, sanding and polishing. It is likely to have been carved by one artisan who would have created the design around the unique inclusions found within the stone.
So, What IS Going on in the British Museum?
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William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill (16/2/2026)
"I've just been chatting with Nick Cullinan, the excellent new director of
the British Museum, and I'm very ...
1 hour ago


