Alabaster

Alabaster EDIT   Alabaster cylinders ready to become jars. Alabaster Basic Information Type Hardstones[1][2][3] Rules Information 1st Edition Statistics[1] Value 5 sp/lb (11 sp/kg) 2nd Edition Statistics[2][3] Value 5 sp/lb (11 sp/kg) Alabaster was a form of gypsum that was used decoratively on interior walls of buildings[2][4] or carved into fancy containers for potions, unguents, lotions, ointments, perfumes, and cosmetics.[5]   Contents Description Powers Trivia Appendix External Links References Description Alabaster was brittle, but it was waterproof, had a fine-grained texture, and a pure white color that made it appealing for use as a building material or for making decorative jars.[5] A typical price was 5 sp per lb (0.45 kg).[1][2][3]   Powers This Hardstone had no known magical powers.[5]   Trivia The goddess Siamorphe once had a realm in the House of the Triad called the Alabaster Palace.[6] Before it was conquered by the ancient Netherese, Thaeravel was known as the Land of Alabaster Towers.[7][8][9] The moon Elf archmage Abarat was nicknamed "the Alabaster".[10] The Alabaster Staff was a powerful necromantic device that was once used to animate the God-King Gilgeam's corpse.[11][12] The year 577 DR was known as the Year of the Alabaster Mounds. Appendix External Links Smallwikipedialogo.png Alabaster article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. References

Materials

Alabaster is a term that is often used to refer to two distinct varieties of stone when used as a material for art and artifacts: alabaster and travertine.   Alabaster (Gypsum Alabaster) True alabaster, in geological terms, is a sedimentary rock consisting primarily of gypsum, a hydrous sulfate of calcium. Alabaster is a fine-grained aggregate that occurs in layers resulting from the evaporation of sea water. The purest alabaster is white, but its association with iron oxides produces brown clouding and veining in the stone.   Travertine (Calcite Alabaster) The other material often referred to as “Egyptian Alabaster,” “Oriental Alabaster,” or “Onyx Marble” in archaeological, art historical or decorative contexts, is comprised of the mineral calcite, a carbonate of calcium. Geologically, calcite alabaster is travertine, a sedimentary variety of limestone that appears as a dense, non-porous, fine-grained stone deposited as flowstone, stalagmites and stalactites. Rocks deposited in cold-water cave environments tend to be relatively pure in composition and are typically colorless,white or brown. Travertines deposited by hot springs may be richly patterned and tinted red, yellow and brown by iron oxides, the result of the action of cyanobacteria living in the warm water.   There is also a much rarer "Black Alabaster' it is a version of hte gypsum-based mineral found only in a couple of known veins in the world.