Alabaster

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Alabaster refers to a fine-grained marblelike variety of gypsum that is easy to carve but is rather fragile; it has been used as a sculpture material, in ornamental building work, for vases and small decorative carvings, and also powdered for use as a paper filler and paint pigment called mineral white or terra alba. Alabaster is usually a translucent white or pink but may also be a muted red, yellow, or gray. It is soft and can be scratched slightly with a fingernail, and also dissolves slowly in wet environments.

Adapted from
Getty Vocabulary, AAT (alabaster (mineral): AAT: 300011101).

NOTES

ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS
268417498: UMO. [Caption] White blocks of alabaster being worked in a studio, Volterra, Toscana, Italy. Source: Zyance (Own work), Wikimedia Commons, accessed: August 9, 2016, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alabastro_z05.JPG.

WEB RESOURCES

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
SET OPERATOR AS OR
apply to OBJECTS where medium contains alabaster
apply to OBJECTS where id equals 5026884

rules_operator
OR
General Description
Alabaster refers to a fine-grained marblelike variety of gypsum that is easy to carve but is rather fragile; it has been used as a sculpture material, in ornamental building work, for vases and small decorative carvings, and also powdered for use as a paper filler and paint pigment called mineral white or terra alba. Alabaster is usually a translucent white or pink but may also be a muted red, yellow, or gray. It is soft and can be scratched slightly with a fingernail, and also dissolves slowly in wet environments.

Adapted from
Getty Vocabulary, AAT (alabaster (mineral): AAT: 300011101).

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources

Notes

tags
#draft
#completed
@Higgins
*Arts of the Americas
%copyedited_Gail
sculpture: AAT: 300047090
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
carving (processes): AAT: 300053149
drillwork (sculpture technique): AAT: 300186211
translucency: AAT: 300056219
ornaments: AAT: 300266794
pigment: AAT: 300013109
sculpting: AAT: 300264383
vases: AAT: 300132254
architectural ornament: AAT: 300378995
cutting (dividing): AAT: 300053069
mineral pigment: AAT: 300375550
alabaster (mineral): AAT: 300011101
powdered pigment: AAT: 300014013
268417498: UMO
gypsum (mineral): AAT: 300011099
source file
materials_and_techniques-0135.xml.nores