Castile soap is an olive oil based hard soap similar in style  to that originating in the Castile region of Spain. Early soap-makers in the Mediterranean area did not have easy access to laurel oil and started creating an olive-oil soap now known as Castile soap. Castile soap is so called because it was produced on a large scale in the territories of the Crown of Castile, from where it was exported to numerous places in Europe, mainly during the Modern Age. Although the Crown of Castile was not the only producer of this type of soap, the quality far exceeded that from other provinces of Europe. This silver soap holder from Segovia could still be used as such but perhaps would be better suited to pot pourri or just as a highly decorative object.