Steatite (also known as Soapstone, or soaprock) is a mineral schist, largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It has been a medium for carving for thousands of years. Steatite is relatively soft because of its high talc content, with a surface which may feel similar to soap when touched, hence the name. It was utilized during antiquity for the fabrication o luxurious containers and ceremonial weights, such as the present, in th greater Gulf region as well as southern Iran.
Excavations at the archeological site of Tepe Yaya,
dated to the mid-third millennium B.C., in Ira unearthed the ruins of workshops where such vessel were discovered. As well, raw materials used for thei manufacture and quarrie from the nearby hills were also present. On the islan of Tarut, in the Gulf close to the Arabian coast, ove six hundred complete and fragmentary vessels an weights have been unearthed. Because many partiall formed objects found on Tarut were discovered next t chunks of unworked chlorite, it has been surmised tha this island was once a center of production for thes works.
Found throughout the ancient Near East, from Syria t the Indus Valley, revealing the extensive trade route of the time, these works are classified by moder historians as belonging to the “Intercultural Style,”
called so because they derive iconographical element from both Near Eastern and Harappan traditions. Muc like the written cuneiform alphabet was used b several distinct cultures throughout the ancient Nea East to dictate their individual spoken languages, s steatite works were created by various cultures, eac adorning the piece with their own distinct aestheti style. Many examples were discovered in the ruins o palace and temple structures or entombed in the grave of the nobility, including Sumerian Mesopotamia.
Clearly these vessels and weights were among the mos precious luxury items that could only be afforded b the ruling elite.
This type of stone sculpture is commonly referred t as a “lock” due to its form. Carved from a large sla of steatitic stone, with sculpted images rendered in low relie decorating both sides, this work probably originall functioned as some sort of ceremonial weight. On on side of the weight, a mythological scene has bee carved depicting a central figure with the upper tors of a man and the legs of a bull or horse. In hi hands, he holds the tails of two spotted panthers tha flank him on either side. He pulls their hin quarters in the air as they stand on their front leg looking up towards him. Their mysterious composit creature is cleary in control of these powerfu felines, thereby earning the label, “Master of th Beasts” which is applied to this theme.
Such iconography seems to originate in eastern Ira and Central Asia, where the theme of man dominatin over the animals appeared to be quite popular. Tw scorpions frame this grouping, placed underneath th join of the handle to the body of the lock. Accordin to some scholars, the wild beasts represent chaos an are contrasted to the humans, who display control ove nature and the promise of fertility. At one time, th spots of the leopards and the figure’s eyes would hav been filled with inlaid shell or bone. It is possible that these scenes are related to th epic legend of Gilgamesh.