A form of gypsum, usually fine-grained, white and translucent, used for carving sculpture, vases, and decorative objects.
Head of St. John the Baptist. 15th century. Carved and painted alabaster. Victory and Albert Museum, London.
A free resource for students and teachers, created by Dr. James Terry. Art History Glossary by James Terry is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .