ALABASTER  , a name applied to two distinct See also:

• MINERAL

mineral sub-stances, the one a hydrous sulphate of See also:

• LIME
• LIME (O. Eng. lim, Lat. limes, mud, from linere, to smear)

lime and the other a carbonate of lime . The former is the alabaster of the See also:

• PRESENT

present See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day, the latter is generally the alabaster of the ancients . The two kinds are readily distinguished from each other by their relative hardness . The See also:

• MODERN

modern alabaster is so soft as to be readily scratched even by the See also:

• FINGER

finger-See also:

• NAIL (O. Eng. naegal, cf. Dutch, Ger., Swed. nagel; the word is also related to Lat. unguis, Gr. ovu, Sans. nakhas)

nail (hardness =1.5 to 2), whilst the See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

stone called alabaster by the ancients is too hard to be scratched in this way (hardness=3), though it yields readily to a See also:

• KNIFE (0. E. cuff, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. knijf, Ger. Kneif, a shoe-maker's knife, Swed. knif; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the root of " nip," formerly " knip "; Fr. canif is a

knife . Moreover, the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient alabaster, being a carbonate, effervesces on being touched with hydrochloric See also:

• ACID (from the Lat. root ac-, sharp; acere, to be sour)

acid, whereas the modern alabaster when so treated remains practically unaffected . Ancient Alabaster.—This substance, the " alabaster " of scripture, is often termed See also:

• ORIENTAL

Oriental alabaster, since the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early examples came from the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East . The See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek name hXaf3avrpirr7s is said to be derived from the See also:

• TOWN

town of Alabastron, in See also:

• EGYPT

Egypt, where the stone was quarried, but the locality probably owed its name to the mineral; the origin of the mineral-name is obscure, and it has been suggested that it may have had an Arabic origin . The Oriental alabaster was highly esteemed for making small perfume-bottles or ointment vases called alabastra; and this has been conjectured to be a possible source of the name . Alabaster was also employed in Egypt for Canopic jars and various other sacred and sepulchral See also:

• OBJECTS

objects . A splendid See also:

• SARCOPHAGUS (Gr. vapsorg yos, literally " flesh-eating," from vapt, flesh, ¢ayeiv, to eat)

sarcophagus, sculptured in a single See also:

• BLOCK
• BLOCK (from the Fr. bloc, and possibly connected with an Old Ger. Block, obstruction, cf. " baulk ")
• BLOCK, MAURICE (1816–19or)

block of translucent Oriental alabaster from Alabastron, is in the See also:

• SOANE, SIR JOHN (1753-1837)

Soane Museum, See also:

• LONDON

London . This was discovered by Giovanni See also:

• BELZONI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA (1778–1823)

Belzoni, in 1817, in the See also:

• TOMB (Gr. Tuµ/3a, Tuµ(3os, probably allied to Lat. tumulus, literally a swelling, tumere, to swell)

tomb of Seti I., near See also:

• THEBES (anciently &Oat, Thebae, or in poetry sometimes Oif3a, in modern Greek Phiva, or, according to the corrected pronunciation, Thivae)
• THEBES (e 3a1)
• THEBES, ROMANCE OF

Thebes, and was See also:

• PURCHASED

purchased by See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John Soane, having previously been offered to the See also:

• BRITISH

British Museum for £2000 . Oriental alabaster is either a stalagmitic See also:

• DEPOSIT (Lat. depositurn, from deponere, to lay down, to put in the care of)

deposit, from the See also:

• FLOOR (from O. Eng. flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vloer, and Ger. Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine)

floor and walls of See also:

• LIMESTONE

limestone-caverns, or a See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of travertine, deposited from springs of calcareous See also:

• WATER

water .

Its deposition in successive layers gives rise to the banded See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance which the See also:

• MARBLE (from Lat. marmor, Gr. pApµapos, shining stone)

marble often shows on See also:

• CROSS

cross-See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section, whence it is known as See also:

• ONYX

onyx-marble or alabaster-onyx, or sometimes simply as onyx—a See also:

• TERM

term which should, however, be restricted to a siliceous mineral . The See also:

• EGYPTIAN

Egyptian alabaster has been extensively worked near Suef and near See also:

• ASSIUT, or SLUT

Assiut; there are many ancient quarries in the hills overlooking the See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain of Tell el Amarna . The Algerian onyx-marble has been largely quarried in the See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province of See also:

• ORAN (Arabic Wahran, i.e. ravine)

Oran . In See also:

• MEXICO
• MEXICO (Span. Mejico, or Mexico,)
• MEXICO, FEDERAL DISTRICT OF
• MEXICO, GULF OF

Mexico there are famous deposits of a delicate See also:

• GREEN, A
• GREEN, ALEXANDER HENRY (1832—1896)
• GREEN, DUFF (1791—1875)
• GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837—1883)
• GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737)
• GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882)
• GREEN, VALENTINE (1739–1813)
• GREEN, WILLIAM HENRY (.1825–1900)

green variety at La Pedrara, in the See also:

• DISTRICT

district of Tecali, near See also:

• PUEBLA
• PUEBLA (full title La Puebla de los Angeles, and more recently, Puebla de Zaragoza)

Puebla . Onyx-marble occurs also in the district of Tehuacan and at several localities in See also:

• CALIFORNIA
• CALIFORNIA, LOWER (Baja California)
• CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF

California, See also:

• ARIZONA (from the Spanish-Indian Arizonac, of unknown meaning,—possibly " few springs,"-the name of an 18th-century mining camp in the Santa Cruz valley, just S. of the present border of Arizona)

Arizona, See also:

• UTAH

Utah, See also:

• COLORADO

Colorado and See also:

• VIRGINIA
• VIRGINIA, or VERGINIA
• VIRGINIA, UNIVERSITY OF

Virginia . Modern Alabaster.—When the term " alabaster " is used without any qualification it invariably means, at the present day, a finely granular variety of See also:

• GYPSUM

gypsum (q.v.) . This mineral, or alabaster proper, occurs in See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England in the See also:

• KEUPER

Keuper marls of the Midlands, especially at Chellaston in See also:

• DERBYSHIRE

Derbyshire, at Fauld in See also:

• STAFFORDSHIRE

Staffordshire and near See also:

• NEWARK
• NEWARK (NEWARK-UPON-TRENT)
• NEWARK, DAVID LESLIE, LORD (1601-1682)

Newark in See also:

• NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, or NOTTS

Nottinghamshire . At all these localities it has been extensively worked . It is also found, though in subordinate quantity, at Watchet in See also:

• SOMERSETSHIRE

Somersetshire, near See also:

• PENARTH

Penarth in See also:

• GLAMORGANSHIRE (Welsh Morganwg)

Glamorganshire, and elsewhere . In See also:

• CUMBERLAND
• CUMBERLAND, DUKES AND EARLS OF
• CUMBERLAND, RICHARD (1632-1718)
• CUMBERLAND, RICHARD (1732-1811)
• CUMBERLAND, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS

Cumberland and See also:

• WESTMORLAND
• WESTMORLAND, EARLS OF

Westmorland it occurs largely in the New Red rocks, but at a See also:

• LOWER

lower See also:

• GEOLOGICAL

geological See also:

• HORIZON (Gr. 6pfTwv, dividing)

horizon . The alabaster of See also:

• NOTTINGHAM
• NOTTINGHAM, CHARLES HOWARD, 1ST EARL OF1 (1536-1624)
• NOTTINGHAM, EARLS OF

Nottingham-See also:

• SHIRE

shire and Derbyshire is found in thick nodular beds or " floors," in spheroidal masses known as " balls " or " See also:

• BOWLS

bowls," and in smaller lenticular masses termed " cakes." At Chellaston, where the alabaster is known as " See also:

• PATRICK, SIMON (1626–1707)
• PATRICK, ST

Patrick," it has been worked into ornaments under the name of " Derbyshire spar "—a term applied also to fluor-spar . The finer kinds of alabaster are largely employed as an ornamental stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration, and for the walls of staircases and halls .

Its softness enables it to be readily carved into elaborate forms, but its solubility in water renders it inapplicable to outdoor See also:

• WORK

work . The purest alabaster is a See also:

• SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow-See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

white material of See also:

• FINE

fine See also:

• UNIFORM

uniform See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain, but it is often associated with See also:

• OXIDE

oxide of See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron, which produces See also:

• BROWN
• BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
• BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
• BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
• BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
• BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
• BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
• BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
• BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
• BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
• BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
• BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
• BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
• BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
• BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
• BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
• BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
• BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
• BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
• BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
• BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
• BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
• BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)

brown clouding and veining in the stone . The coarser varieties of alabaster are converted by calcination into See also:

• PLASTER

plaster of See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris, whence they are sometimes known as " plaster stone." On the See also:

• CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent of See also:

• EUROPE

Europe the centre of the alabaster See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade is See also:

• FLORENCE
• FLORENCE (Ital. Firenze, Lat. Florentia)

Florence . The Tuscan alabaster occurs in nodular masses, embedded in limestone, interstratified with marls of See also:

• MIOCENE

Miocene and See also:

• PLIOCENE (from the Gr. sr?eiov, mere, and xatvbs, recent)

Pliocene See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age . The mineral is largely worked, by means of underground galleries, in the district of See also:

• VOLTERRA (anc. Volaterrae)

Volterra . Several varieties are recognized—veined, spotted, clouded, agatiform, &c . The finest kind, obtained principally from Castellina, is sent to Florence for figure-See also:

• SCULPTURE
• SCULPTURE (Lat. sculptura, from sculpere, to carve, cognate with Gr. yXb4ew)

sculpture, whilst the See also:

• COMMON

common kinds are carved locally, at a very cheap See also:

• RATE

rate, into vases, See also:

• CLOCK

clock-cases and various ornamental objects, in which a large trade is carried on, especially in Florence, See also:

• PISA
• PISA, COUNCIL OF (1409)

Pisa and See also:

• LEGHORN (Ital. Livorno, Fr. Livourne)

Leghorn . In See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order to diminish the translucency of the alabaster and to produce an opacity suggestive of true marble, the statues are immersed in a See also:

• BATH
• BATH, THOMAS THYNNE
• BATH, WILLIAM

bath of water and gradually heated nearly to the boilingpoint—an operation requiring See also:

• GREAT

great care, for if the temperature be not carefully regulated, the stone acquires a dead-white chalky appearance . The effect of See also:

• HEATING

heating appears to be a partial dehydration of the gypsum . If properly treated, it very closely resembles true marble, and is known as marine di Castellina . It should be noted that sulphate of lime (gypsum) was used also by the ancients, and was employed, for instance, in See also:

• ASSYRIAN

Assyrian sculpture, so that some of the ancient alabaster is identical with the modern stone . Alabaster may be stained by digesting it, after being heated, in various pigmentary solutions; and in this way a See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

• IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation of See also:

• CORAL

coral has been produced (alabaster coral) .

See M . See also:

• CARMICHAEL, GERSHOM (c. 1672-1729)

Carmichael, See also:

• REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

Report on the Volterra Alabaster See also:

• INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

Industry, See also:

• FOREIGN

Foreign See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

Office, See also:

• MISCELLANEOUS

Miscellaneous See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

Series, No . 352 (London, 1895) ; A . T . See also:

• METCALFE,

Metcalfe, " The Gypsum Deposits of Nottingham and Derbyshire," Transactions of the Federated Institution, vol. xii . (1896), p . 107; J . G . Goodchild, " The Natural See also:

• HISTORY

History of Gypsum,", Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, vol. x . (1888), p . 425; See also:

• GEORGE
• GEORGE, 8TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (1787-1876)
• GEORGE, HENRY (1839—1897)
• GEORGE, LAKE
• GEORGE, SAINT (d. 303)

George P . See also:

• MERRILL

Merrill, " The Onyx See also:

• MARBLES

Marbles," Report of the U .

S . See also:

• NATIONAL

National Museum for 1893, P . 539• (F . W .