Soapstone Bowls

history

In Viking age Norway, soapstone was the most common material that bowls were made from for eating. Clay pottery was extremely rare in Norway in the Viking age, possibly due to the poor quality of the clay. This is opposite from Sweden, and especially Denmark, where pottery was the established material for bowls.

Because of this, and the industry built up around soapstone bowl fabrication at the time, a very large number of soapstone bowls have been found from the period and can be recreated.

historical examples

It is possible to view many of the soapstone bowls, on the Unimus website (here) which combines the databases of several Norwegian university archives.

Below are some samples of my Viking age soapstone bowl and trough reproductions, based from museum references provided to me by customers from the above resource:

prices

Prices are based on the bowl size, as a direct result of the amount of primary material needed to produce the item.

SMALL: up to and including 19 cm (7.5 inches): 200 Euros

AVERAGE: from 20 up to and including 23 cm (9 inches): 250 Euros

LARGE: from 24 cm upwards: 300 Euros

It is possible to order a bowl with iron handle and fittings, in which case the price is an additional 100 euros. In this instance, however, perhaps you would prefer a reproduction of a Viking age cauldron instead.