Editing Alabaster

{{Short description|Lightly colored, translucent, and soft calcium minerals, typically gypsum}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Lioness Bast cosmetic jar 83d40m tut burial artifact.jpg|thumb|Calcite alabaster: The tomb of [[Tutankhamun]] (d. 1323 BC) contained a practical ''objet d’art'', a cosmetics jar made of Egyptian alabaster, which features a lid surmounted by a lioness (goddess [[Bast (mythology)|Bast]]).]]

'''Alabaster''' is a [[mineral]] and a soft [[Rock (geology)|rock]] used for carvings and as a source of [[plaster]] powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alabaster'' includes objects and artefacts made from two different minerals: (i) the fine-grained, massive type of [[gypsum]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Gypsum |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/gypsum |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108095307/https://www.britannica.com/science/gypsum |archive-date=8 January 2017 |access-date=8 January 2017 |website=Britannica}}</ref> and (ii) the fine-grained, banded type of [[calcite]].<ref name="OxfMuseum">''More About Alabaster and Travertine'': Brief Guide explains the different definitions used by geologists, archaeologists, and the stone trade. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, 2012, [http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/corsi/files/pdf/Alabaster-travertine.pdf]</ref>

Chemically, gypsum is a [[Water of crystallization|hydrous]] [[sulfate]] of [[calcium]], whereas calcite is a [[carbonate]] of calcium.<ref name="OxfMuseum"/><ref name="Grove" /> As types of alabaster, gypsum and calcite have similar properties, such as light color, translucence, and soft stones that can be [[sculpture|carved and sculpted]]; thus the historical use and application of alabaster for the production of carved, decorative artefacts and ''[[objet d'art|objets d’art]]''.<ref name="Grove">"Grove": R. W. Sanderson and Francis Cheetham. "Alabaster", [[Grove Art Online]], Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 13 March 2013, [http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T001400 subscriber link].</ref> Calcite alabaster also is known as onyx-marble, Egyptian alabaster, and Oriental alabaster, which terms usually describe either a compact, banded [[travertine]] stone<ref name="OxfMuseum" /> or a [[stalagmitic]] [[limestone]] colored with swirling bands of cream and brown.<ref name="Grove"/>
[[File:Septimius Severus busto-Musei Capitolini.jpg|thumb|Alabaster artefact: A composite bust of the Emperor [[Septimius Severus]]; the head is marble and the bust is alabaster.]]

In general, ancient alabaster is calcite in the wider [[Middle East]], including [[Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]], while it is gypsum in medieval [[Europe]]. Modern alabaster is most likely calcite but may be either. Both are easy to work and slightly soluble in water. They have been used for making a variety of indoor artwork and carving, as they will not survive long outdoors.

The two types are readily distinguished by their different hardness: gypsum alabaster ([[Mohs scale of mineral hardness|Mohs hardness]] 1.5 to 2) is so soft that a fingernail scratches it, while calcite (Mohs hardness 3) cannot be scratched in this way but yields to a knife. Moreover, calcite alabaster, being a carbonate, [[effervescence|effervesces]] when treated with [[hydrochloric acid]] while gypsum alabaster remains almost unaffected.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Alabaster|volume=1|pages=466-467|first=Frederick William|last=Rudler}} Endnotes:
* M. Carmichael, ''Report on the Volterra Alabaster Industry'', Foreign Office, Miscellaneous Series, No. 352 (London, 1895)
* A. T. Metcalfe, "The Gypsum Deposits of Nottingham and Derbyshire," ''Transactions of the Federated Institution'', vol. xii. (1896), p. 107
* J. G. Goodchild, "The Natural History of Gypsum," ''Proceedings of the Geologists' Association'', vol. x. (1888), p. 425
* [[George Perkins Merrill|George P. Merrill]], "The Onyx Marbles," ''Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1893'', p. 539.</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:MorellaSantaMariaWindow.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Alabaster windows in the Church of Santa Maria la Mayor of [[Morella, Castellón|Morella]], Spain (built 13th–16th centuries)]]
The English word "alabaster" was borrowed from Old French ''{{Lang|ang|alabastre}}'', in turn derived from [[Latin]] ''{{Lang|la|alabaster}}'', and that from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''{{Lang|grc|ἀλάβαστρος|italic=no}}'' (''{{Lang|grc-latn|alábastros}}'') or ''{{Lang|grc|ἀλάβαστος|italic=no}}'' (''{{Lang|grc-latn|alábastos}}''). The Greek words denoted a vase of alabaster.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%233809 Alabastos], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', at Perseus</ref>

The name may be derived further from [[Egyptian language|ancient Egyptian]] ''{{Lang|egy|a-labaste}}'', which refers to vessels of the Egyptian goddess [[Bast (mythology)|Bast]]. She was represented as a lioness and frequently depicted as such in figures placed atop these alabaster vessels.<ref>{{cite web |title=alabaster - definition |url=http://www.yourdictionary.com/alabaster |website=YourDictionary}}</ref><ref>[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/alabaster "alabaster"], ''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary''<!-- Bot generated title --></ref> Ancient Roman authors [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Ptolemy]] wrote that the stone used for ointment jars called ''alabastra'' came from a region of Egypt known as Alabastron or Alabastrites.<ref name="MatInd">{{cite book |title=Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries |author=[[Alfred Lucas (chemist)|Alfred Lucas]], John Richard Harris |year=2011 |edition=reprint of 4th edition (1962), revised from first (1926) |location=Mineola, NY |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |page=60 |isbn=9780486404462 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8dIoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 |access-date=26 July 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Eyma |first1=A. K. |title=Egyptian Loan-Words in English |url=http://www.egyptologyforum.org/AEloans.html |website=Egyptologists' Electronic Forum |date=2007}}</ref>

==Properties and usability==
The purest alabaster is a snow-white material of fine uniform grain, but it often is associated with an oxide of [[iron]], which produces brown clouding and veining in the stone. The coarser varieties of gypsum alabaster are converted by calcination into [[plaster of Paris]], and are sometimes known as "plaster stone".<ref name="EB1911"/>

The softness of alabaster enables it to be carved readily into elaborate forms, but its solubility in water renders it unsuitable for outdoor work.<ref name="EB1911"/> If alabaster with a smooth, polished surface is washed with [[dishwashing liquid]], it will become rough, dull and whiter, losing most of its translucency and lustre.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Griswold|first=John|date=September 2000|title=Care of Alabaster|url=https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/15-01.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/15-01.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal=Conserve O Gram|volume=15|pages=4|via=National Park Service}}</ref> The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as an [[stone masonry|ornamental stone]], especially for [[ecclesiastical]] decoration and for the rails of staircases and halls.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://atena.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=13426913&search_terms=DTL45|title=Acta Eruditorum|year=1733|location=Leipzig|pages=42}}</ref>

==Modern processing==
[[File:Alabastro z05.JPG|thumb|Alabaster workshop in [[Volterra]], Italy]]

===Working techniques===
Alabaster is mined and then sold in blocks to alabaster workshops.<ref name="BruciExtraction">{{cite web| url = http://www.alialabastro.it/estrazione-en.html| title = Italian Alabaster Works of G. Bruci & Co., Volterra: Extraction}}</ref> There they are cut to the needed size ("squaring"), and then are processed in different techniques: [[Turning|turned]] on a [[lathe]] for round shapes, [[Stone carving|carved]] into three-dimensional [[sculpture]]s, [[chisel]]led to produce [[Relief#Bas-relief or low relief|low relief]] figures or decoration; and then given an elaborate finish that reveals its transparency, colour, and texture.<ref name="BruciWork"/>

===Marble imitation===
In order to diminish the [[Translucent|translucency]] of the alabaster and to produce an opacity suggestive of true marble, the statues are immersed in a bath of water and heated gradually—nearly to the boiling point—in an operation requiring great care, because if the temperature is not regulated carefully, the stone acquires a dead-white, chalky appearance. The effect of heating appears to be a partial dehydration of the gypsum. If properly treated, it closely resembles true marble and is known as "[[Marble|marmo]] di [[Castellina Marittima|Castellina]]".<ref name="EB1911"/>

===Dyeing===
Alabaster is a porous stone and can be dyed into any colour or shade, a technique used for centuries.<ref name="BruciWork">{{cite web| url = http://www.alialabastro.it/lavorazione-en.html| title = Italian Alabaster Works of G. Bruci & Co., Volterra: Working techniques}}</ref> For this the stone needs to be fully immersed in various pigment solutions and heated to a specific temperature.<ref name="BruciWork"/> The technique can be used to disguise alabaster. In this way an imitation of [[Coral (precious)|coral]] that is called "alabaster coral" is produced.

==Types, occurrence, history==
[[File:Tutankhamun's Alabaster Jar.jpg|thumb|upright|A calcite alabaster perfume jar from the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]], d. 1323 BC]]
Typically only one type is sculpted in any particular cultural environment, but sometimes both have been worked to make similar pieces in the same place and time. This was the case with small flasks of the [[alabastron]] type made in [[Cyprus]] from the [[Bronze Age]] into the Classical period.<ref>Hermary, Antoine, Mertens, Joan R., ''The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art: Stone Sculpture'', 2014, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, {{ISBN|1588395502}}, 9781588395504, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OsHUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA384 pp. 384-398]</ref>

===Window panels===
When cut into thin sheets, alabaster is translucent enough to be used for small windows.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reynolds|date=2002-08-06|title=Alabaster Gleams in Cathedral|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-aug-06-et-alabaster6-story.html|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> It was used for this purpose in Byzantine churches and later in [[medieval]] ones, especially in [[Italy]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schibille |first=Nadine |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315586069 |title=Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience |date=2016-04-22 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315586069 |isbn=978-1-317-12415-3}}</ref> Large sheets of Aragonese gypsum alabaster are used extensively in the [[Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels]],<ref name="AragonGov"/> dedicated in 2002 by the [[Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California, Archdiocese]].<ref name="Windows">{{Cite web |title=Windows |url=https://olacathedral.org/window-s |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels |language=en}}</ref> The cathedral incorporates special cooling to prevent the panes from overheating and turning opaque.<ref name="Windows"/> The ancients used the calcite type,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/a/alab.html| title = Buffalo Architecture and History: Alabaster}}</ref> while the modern Los Angeles cathedral employs gypsum alabaster. There are also multiple examples of alabaster windows in ordinary village churches and monasteries in northern Spain.

===Calcite alabaster===
[[File:Calcite dish. From Royal Tomb "U", Semerkhet, at Abydos, Egypt. 1st Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|Calcite dish from the Ancient Egyptian tomb of "U", [[Semerkhet]]]]

Calcite alabaster, harder than the gypsum variety, was used in ancient Egypt and the wider Middle East (except [[Assyrian palace reliefs]]), and also in modern times. It is found as either a [[stalagmite|stalagmitic]] deposit from the floor and walls of [[limestone]] [[cavern]]s, or as a kind of [[travertine]], similarly deposited in springs of calcareous water. Its deposition in successive layers gives rise to the banded appearance that the marble often shows on cross-section, from which its name is derived: onyx-marble or alabaster-onyx, or sometimes simply (and wrongly) as [[onyx]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

====Egypt and the Middle East====
Egyptian alabaster has been worked extensively near [[Suez]]<ref name="MatInd"/> and [[Assiut]].<ref name="MatInd"/>

This stone variety is the "alabaster" of the [[ancient Egypt]]ians and [[Bible]] and is often termed ''Oriental alabaster'', since the early examples came from the [[Far East]]. The [[Greek language|Greek]] name ''alabastrites'' is said to be derived from the town of Alabastron in [[Egypt]], where the stone was quarried. The locality may owe its name to the mineral;{{dubious|Circular argumentation...|date=July 2016}} though the origin of the mineral name is obscure<ref name="EB1911"/>

The "Oriental" alabaster was highly esteemed for making small perfume bottles or ointment vases called [[alabastron|alabastra]]; the vessel name has been suggested as a possible source of the mineral name. In Egypt, craftsmen used alabaster for [[canopic jar]]s and various other sacred and sepulchral objects. The [[sarcophagus of Seti I]], found in [[Tomb of Seti I|his tomb]] near [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], is on display in [[Sir John Soane's Museum]], [[London]]; it is carved in a single block of translucent calcite alabaster from Alabastron.<ref name="EB1911"/>

[[Algeria]]n onyx-marble has been quarried largely in the province of [[Oran]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Calcite alabaster was quarried in ancient [[Israel]] in the cave known as the Twins Cave near [[Beit Shemesh]]. [[Herod the Great|Herod]] used this alabaster for baths in his palaces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Amir |first1=Ayala |last2=Frumkin |first2=Amos |last3=Zissu |first3=Boaz |last4=Maeir |first4=Aren M. |last5=Goobes |first5=Gil |last6=Albeck |first6=Amnon |title=Sourcing Herod the Great's calcite-alabaster bathtubs by a multi-analytic approach |journal=Scientific Reports |date=7 May 2022 |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=7524 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-11651-5|pmid=35525885 |pmc=9079073 |bibcode=2022NatSR..12.7524A |doi-access=free }}</ref>

====North America====
In [[Mexico]], there are famous deposits of a delicate green variety at [[La Pedrara]], in the district of [[Tecali]], near [[Puebla, Puebla|Puebla]]. Onyx-marble occurs also in the district of [[Tehuacán Municipality|Tehuacán]] and at several localities in the US including [[California]], [[Arizona]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]] and [[Virginia]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

===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====
{{One source|section|date=May 2021}}

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]]
<!-- This section is linked from [[Henry IV of England]] -->
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.

===Gallery===
====Ancient and Classical Near East====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
Ebih-Il Louvre AO17551 n01.jpg|''[[Statue of Ebih-Il]]'', [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] on the [[Euphrates]], made of gypsum alabaster (25th century BC)
File:Statuette_Goddess_Louvre_AO20127.jpg|Necropolis of Hillah, near [[Babylon]]. Alabaster, gold, [[terracotta]] and rubies. Musée du Louvre
Statue Ammaalay Louvre AO20282.jpg|Alabaster statue, [[Yemen]] (1st century BC)
File:Assyrian royal lion Hunt19.JPG|Assyrian relief; [[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal|King Ashurbanipal spears a lion]]
</gallery>

====European Middle Ages====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
Norbury, Derbyshire - Nicholas Fitzherbert.jpg|Alabaster sepulchral monument of [[Nicholas Fitzherbert]], d. AD 1473, in [[St Mary and St Barlock's Church, Norbury]], [[Derbyshire]], England
File:Fossanova Abbey fc02.jpg|Alabaster windows in the choir of [[Fossanova Abbey]] church (12th century) in [[Latina, Italy]]
File:Casamari coro.jpg|Alabaster windows and rosette in the central apse of [[Casamari Abbey]] church (1203–1217) in [[Lazio]], Italy
File:Orvieto083.jpg|Alabaster window in [[Orvieto Cathedral]] (14th century), Italy

</gallery>

====Modern====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
Archaizing Relief of a Seated King and Attendants, late 19th century.jpg|Archaizing Relief of a Seated King and Attendants, [[Iran]], [[Qajar art|Qajar period]] (late 19th century CE, in the style of 5th–4th century BC). [[Brooklyn Museum]].
Alabasterlampe Umgang Oktogon erleuchtet.jpg|Alabaster lamp, [[Aachen Cathedral]], Germany (early 20th century)
alabaster-satin spar.jpg|Objet d'art with gypsum alabaster base, showing typical mottling (modern)
</gallery>

==See also==

===Mineralogy===
*{{annotated link|Calcite}} – mineral consisting of calcium carbonate ({{chem2|CaCO3}}); archaeologists and stone trade professionals, unlike mineralogists, call one variety of calcite "alabaster"
*{{annotated link|Gypsum}} – mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate ({{chem2|CaSO4*2H2O}}); alabaster is one of its varieties
**{{annotated link|Anhydrite}} – a mineral closely related to gypsum
**{{annotated link|Calcium sulfate}} – the main inorganic compound ({{chem2|CaSO4}}) of gypsum
*{{annotated link|Fengite}} – translucent sheets of marble or alabaster used during the Early Middle Ages for windows instead of glass
*{{annotated link|List of minerals}}

===Window and roof panels===
Chronological list of examples:
*{{annotated link|Mausoleum of Galla Placidia}} – 5th century, Ravenna
*{{annotated link|Basilica of San Vitale}} – 6th century, Ravenna
*{{annotated link|Valencia Cathedral}} – mainly 13th–14th century, Valencia, Spain; the [[Roof lantern|lantern]] of the octagonal crossing tower
*{{annotated link|Orvieto Cathedral}} – 14th-century, Orvieto, Umbria, central Italy
*{{annotated link|St. Peter's Basilica}} – 17th century, Rome; alabaster window by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini|Bernini]] (1598–1680) used to create a "spotlight"
*{{annotated link|Church of All Nations}} – 1924, Jerusalem, architect: [[Antonio Barluzzi]]. Windows fitted with dyed alabaster panels.
*{{annotated link|Church of the Transfiguration}} – 1924, Mount Tabor, architect: Antonio Barluzzi. Alabaster roofing was attempted.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Harrell J.A. (1990), "Misuse of the term 'alabaster' in [[Egyptology]]", ''Göttinger Miszellen'', '''119''', pp.&nbsp;37–42.
* Mackintosh-Smith T. (1999), "Moonglow from Underground". Aramco World May–June 1999.[http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199903]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alabaster}}
* [http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/corsi/files/pdf/Alabaster-travertine.pdf ''More about alabaster and travertine'', brief guide explaining the confusing, different use of the same terms by geologists, archaeologists and the stone trade. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, 2012]
*[https://www.volterracity.com/post-category/prima-pagina/nove-arti/scultura/ Alabaster Craftmanship in Volterra]
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Alabaster |short=x}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Alabaster| ]]
[[Category:Calcium minerals]]
[[Category:Carbonate minerals]]
[[Category:Sulfate minerals]]
[[Category:Minerals]]
[[Category:Stone (material)]]
[[Category:Sculpture materials]]
[[Category:Bastet]]