Editing Alabaster (section)

===Gypsum alabaster===
Gypsum alabaster is softer than calcite alabaster. It was used primarily in medieval Europe, and is also used in modern times.

====Ancient and Classical Near East====
[[File:The Royal lion hunt reliefs from the Assyrian palace at Nineveh, a dying male lion, about 645-635 BC, British Museum (12254756385).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Wounded lion, detail from the ''[[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal]]'', 7th century BC, [[British Museum]]]]
"Mosul marble" is a kind of gypsum alabaster found in the north of modern [[Iraq]], which was used for the [[Assyrian palace reliefs]] of the 9th to 7th centuries BC; these are the largest type of alabaster sculptures to have been regularly made. The relief is very low and the carving detailed, but large rooms were lined with continuous compositions on slabs around {{convert|7|ft|m}} high. The ''[[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal]]'' and military [[Lachish reliefs]], both 7th century BC and in the [[British Museum]], are some of the best known.

Gypsum alabaster was widely used for small [[sculpture]] for indoor use in the ancient world, especially in ancient Egypt and [[Mesopotamia]]. Fine detail could be obtained in a material with an attractive finish without iron or steel tools. Alabaster was used for vessels dedicated for use in the cult of the deity Bast in the culture of the ancient Egyptians, and thousands of gypsum alabaster [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] dating to the late [[4th millennium BC]] also have been found in [[Tell Brak]] (modern [[Nagar, Syria|Nagar]]), in [[Syria]].<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=3&item=1988.323.8&viewmode=0&isHighlight=1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129011651/http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=3&item=1988.323.8&viewmode=0&isHighlight=1|date=November 29, 2005}}</ref>

In Mesopotamia, gypsum alabaster was the material of choice for figures of deities and devotees in temples, as in a figure believed to represent the deity [[Abu (god)|Abu]] dating to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, which is kept in New York.<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=3&viewmode=0&item=40%2E156] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901175655/http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=3&viewmode=0&item=40.156|date=September 1, 2005}}</ref>

====Aragon, Spain====
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Much of the world's alabaster is extracted from the centre of the [[Ebro Valley]] in [[Aragon]], [[Spain]], which has the world's largest known exploitable deposits.<ref name="AragonGov">{{cite web |url= http://www.aragon.es/estaticos/GobiernoAragon/Departamentos/IndustriaInnovacion/Areas/Mineria/alabaster%20in%20Aragon.pdf |title= Alabaster in Aragon (Spain) |access-date= 2015-12-06 |archive-date= 2018-04-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180403225553/http://www.aragon.es/estaticos/GobiernoAragon/Departamentos/IndustriaInnovacion/Areas/Mineria/alabaster%20in%20Aragon.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> According to a brochure published by the Aragon government, alabaster has elsewhere either been depleted, or its extraction is so difficult that it has almost been abandoned or is carried out at a very high cost.<ref name="AragonGov"/>{{unreliable_source?|reason=Commercial motivation to mislead is probable.|certain=yes|date=April 2018|}}<!-- Skeptical that an agency overseeing industry, commerce, and tourism would have no selfish purposes in publishing such information: no secondary sources of documentation are listed to corroborate veracity of their claim; claim may be more–or–less correct, but this source is certainly unreliable.--> There are two separate sites in Aragon, both are located in [[Tertiary]] basins.<ref name="AragonGov"/> The most important site is the Fuentes-[[Azaila]] area, in the Tertiary [[Ebro]] Basin.<ref name="AragonGov"/> The other is the [[Calatayud]]-Teruel Basin, which divides the Iberian Range in two main sectors (NW and SE).<ref name="AragonGov"/>

The abundance of Aragonese alabaster was crucial for its use in architecture, sculpture and decoration.<ref name="AragonGov"/> There is no record of use by pre-Roman cultures, so the first ones to use alabaster from Aragon may have been the Romans, who produced vessels from alabaster following the Greek and Egyptian models.<ref name="AragonGov"/> It seems that since the reconstruction of the Roman Wall in [[Zaragoza]] in the 3rd century AD with alabaster, the use of this material became common in building for centuries.<ref name="AragonGov"/> Muslim Saraqusta (Zaragoza) was also called "Medina Albaida", the White City, due to the appearance of its alabaster walls and palaces, which stood out among gardens, groves and orchards by the Ebro and Huerva Rivers.<ref name="AragonGov"/>

The oldest remains in the [[Aljafería]] Palace, together with other interesting elements like capitals, reliefs and inscriptions, were made using alabaster, but it was during the artistic and economic blossoming of the Renaissance that Aragonese alabaster reached its golden age.<ref name="AragonGov"/> In the 16th century sculptors in Aragon chose alabaster for their best works. They were adept at exploiting its lighting qualities and generally speaking the finished art pieces retained their natural color.<ref name="AragonGov"/>

====Volterra (Tuscany)====
[[File:alabaster.whole.600pix.jpg|thumb|upright|Uplighter lamp, white and brown Italian alabaster, base diameter 13 cm (20th century)]]
In modern [[Europe]], the centre of the alabaster trade is [[Florence, Italy]]. [[Tuscany|Tuscan]] alabaster occurs in nodular masses embedded in limestone, interstratified with [[marl]]s of [[Miocene]] and [[Pliocene]] age. The mineral is worked largely by means of underground galleries, in the district of [[Volterra]]. Several varieties are recognized—veined, spotted, clouded, agatiform, and others. The finest kind, obtained principally from [[Castellina Marittima|Castellina]], is sent to Florence for figure-sculpture, while the common kinds are carved locally, into vases, lights, and various ornamental objects. These items are objects of extensive trade, especially in Florence, [[Pisa]], and [[Livorno]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

In the 3rd century BC the [[Etruscans]] used the alabaster of Tuscany from the area of modern-day Volterra to produce [[funeral urn]]s, possibly taught by Greek artists.<ref name="Volterra">{{cite web| url = http://www.volterratur.it/en/come/alabaster/the-alabaster-history/| title = Official website of Volterra| access-date = 2016-07-25| archive-date = 2017-11-08| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171108205856/http://www.volterratur.it/en/come/alabaster/the-alabaster-history/| url-status = dead}}</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]] the craft of alabaster was almost completely forgotten.<ref name="Volterra"/> A revival started in the mid-16th century, and until the beginning of the 17th century alabaster work was strictly artistic and did not expand to form a large industry.<ref name="BruciHist">{{cite web| url = http://www.alialabastro.it/alabastrostoria-en.html| title = Italian Alabaster Works of G. Bruci & Co., Volterra: History| access-date = 2016-07-25| archive-date = 2018-11-09| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181109182332/http://www.alialabastro.it/alabastrostoria-en.html| url-status = dead}}</ref>

In the 17th and 18th centuries production of artistic, high-quality Renaissance-style artifacts stopped altogether, replaced by less sophisticated, cheaper items better suited for large-scale production and commerce. The new industry prospered, but the reduced need for skilled craftsmen left few of them still working. The 19th century brought a boom to the industry, largely due to the "traveling artisans" who offered their wares to the palaces of Europe, as well as to America and the East.<ref name="BruciHist"/>

In the 19th century new processing technology was also introduced, allowing for the production of custom-made, unique pieces, as well as the combination of alabaster with other materials.<ref name="BruciHist"/> Apart from the newly developed craft, artistic work became again possible, chiefly by Volterran sculptor [[Albino Funaioli]].<ref name="BruciHist"/> After a short slump, the industry was revived again by the sale of mass-produced mannerist [[Expressionist]] sculptures. It was further enhanced in the 1920s by a new branch that created ceiling and wall lamps in the [[Art Deco]] style, culminating in participation at the 1925 [[International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts]] in [[Paris]].<ref name="BruciHist"/> Important names in the evolution of alabaster use after [[World War II]] are Volterran [[Umberto Borgna]], the "first alabaster designer", and later on the architect and [[industrial design]]er [[Angelo Mangiarotti]].<ref>[http://www.toscana900.com/en/museo/ecomuseo-dellalabastro/][[:it:Ecomuseo dell'alabastro]]<span>, Volterra; official website</span></ref>

====England and Wales====
[[File:English - Resurrection - Walters 27308.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Resurrection of Christ]], typical [[Nottingham alabaster]] panel from an altarpiece set, 1450–1490, showing remnants of its painted decoration]]
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Gypsum alabaster is a common mineral, which occurs in England in the [[Keuper]] [[marl]]s of the [[English Midlands|Midlands]], especially at [[Chellaston]] in [[Derbyshire]], at Fauld in [[Staffordshire]], and near [[Newark, England|Newark]] in [[Nottinghamshire]]. Deposits at all of these localities have been worked extensively.<ref name="EB1911"/>

In the 14th and 15th centuries the carving into small statues and sets of [[relief]] panels for [[altarpiece]]s was a valuable [[Nottingham Alabaster|local industry in Nottingham]], as well as a major English export. These were usually painted, or partly painted. It was also used for the effigies, often life size, on [[tomb monument]]s, as the typical recumbent position suited the material's lack of strength, and it was cheaper and easier to work than good marble. After the [[English Reformation]] the making of altarpiece sets was discontinued, but funerary monument work in reliefs and statues continued.

In addition to the carvings still in Britain (particularly the [[Nottingham Castle Museum]], [[British Museum]], and [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]), trade in mineral alabaster (other than the antiques trade) is ongoing as far afield as the [[Musée de Cluny]], Spain, and Scandinavia.

Alabaster is also found, in smaller quantity, at [[Watchet]] in [[Somerset]], near [[Penarth]] in [[Glamorganshire]], and elsewhere. In [[Cumbria]] it occurs largely in the New Red rocks, but at a lower geological horizon. The alabaster of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire is found in thick nodular beds or "floors" in spheroidal masses known as "balls" or "bowls" and in smaller lenticular masses termed "cakes". At Chellaston, where the local alabaster is known as "Patrick", it has been worked into ornaments under the name of "Derbyshire spar"―a term more properly applied to [[fluorspar]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

[[File:Willem_van_den_Broecke_-_Sleeping_nymph.jpg|alt=|thumb|Attributed to [[Willem van den Broecke]], [[Rijksmuseum]]]]

====Black alabaster====
''Black alabaster'' is a rare anhydrite form of the gypsum-based mineral. The black form is found in only three veins in the world, one each in [[United States]], [[Italy]], and [[China]].

[[Alabaster Caverns State Park]], near [[Freedom, Oklahoma]], is home to a natural gypsum cave in which much of the gypsum is in the form of alabaster. There are several types of alabaster found at the site, including pink, white, and the rare black alabaster.