steatite
/ˈstɪətʌɪt
/noun [mass noun]
The mineral talc occurring in consolidated form, especially as soapstone.In Scandinavia many bowls and cooking vessels have been found carved from soapstone, or steatite, a mineral that is very heat tolerant....
- Potters at Bristol used steatite or soapstone - the ingredient that gives Worcester porcelain durability and enables it to hold hot liquids without cracking.
- In addition to the mosaic icons, this gallery held a small number of works of steatite and precious stone that were used for private devotions or for personal adornment.
Derivatives
steatitic
- The raw material source is a steatitic talc, also called soapstone, which originates from the thermal metamorphism of siliceous dolomitic rocks.
- Three recipe types are recognised namely, hard-paste Si-Al-Ca, phosphatic, and high-magnesium (steatitic) bodies.
- These sequences are immediately unerlain by steatitic ultramafics.
Origin
Mid 18th century: via Latin from Greek steatītēs, from stear, steat- 'tallow'.