A casting ladle has a body (2) with a base (3) and walls (4, 6, 8) made of a laminated composite ceramic material that includes multiple layers of a woven fiber reinforcing fabric embedded in a ceramic matrix. A rigid support element (20) for attaching the ladle to a handling device is embedded within the composite ceramic material. In a preferred form, the reinforcing fabric is made of woven glass and the matrix material includes calcium silicate and silica.