Soap Art II

There is a myth around the origin of soap: The temple of the Roman goddess Sapo sat on a hill and overlooked the Tibet River. Sapo is the Latin name for soap.

Offerings were burnt at her temple and the rain washed ashes and fat down the hill in to the river, making soap. Since the women used to wash their clothes in the river, they ended up with cleaner clothes, which they contributed to the goddess as a gift to them.

Soap was already used and produced around 2800 BC in Babylon. Records show that there was evidence found of this production and a formula was found on a Babylonian clay tablet, dating back as far as 2200 BC, describing the production of a substance resembling soap.

In Europe, during the 16th century, the animal fats used to manufacture soap were replaced by vegetable oil and resulted in the finer soaps which we still are using at present. The bar of soap made its entry in the late 19th century, when the connection between health and cleanliness was made and people became more aware of that fact.

Soap comes in lots of forms these days, but seeing all these lovely soap creations then I royally admit that I am a great fan of this bubbling art.