| About
Alabaster: Indigenous to Upper Egypt, alabaster has
been quarried for 7,000 years in the same Egyptian locale,
it is also known as Travertine. This alabaster stone has
been used since the pharaohs as a glowing luminary--the
stone takes on the glow and heat from a candle light and
spreads it evenly throughout its structure. The secrets of
the manufacture of this warm and luminous stone have been
handed down from generation to generation, and still
represent one of the pinnacles of Egyptian handicrafts.
Alabaster occurs naturally in many shades of color from
pure white to reddish-tan. When held up to the light, it
looks like quartz and is almost see-through, if thin
enough. Alabaster has been used for centuries in Egypt to
make artifacts like vases, bowls, and today, lampshades and
ashtrays. From olden times in
Egypt funerary items like sarcophaguses and canopic
equipment have been laid in alabaster, as well as the more
common household and ritual pieces. Fine examples can be
found at the Tutankhamun collection of the Egyptian museum.
Egyptian
Vases - Alabaster Vase ~ Height 12 cm 4.8
" |
