Description
Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft and has been used throughout history primarily for carving decorative artifacts. The use of alabaster for carvings has been used for centuries and dates back to Ancient Egyptians.
The purest form of alabaster is usually a snow white material of fine uniform grain, but often is associated with an oxide of iron, which can produce brown clouds and veins. The color can vary by region as well, alabaster can be found with delicate green tones, as well as gold tones.
Alabaster is mined and then sold and cut into blocks for the individual to work on. They then can sculpt and chisel and bring their creation to life. The softness of alabaster enables it to be carved easily into elaborate forms and then polished to a smooth lustrous finish.
Alabaster can be found throughout the world. Here in North America it is most common in California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma and Virginia. Since the Native American Navajo tribes are located here in Arizona, it makes sense that they have alabaster readily available from here and our border states nearby to carve from.
There are many great Native American Navajo carvers. Alvin Marshall is known as one of the best and most well known carvers but there are also many other great carvers as well. We have a variety of carvers such as Ray and Terry Pettigrew and many more. We often have more sculptures in our retail location than online, so if you are looking for a particular artist that you don’t see here, you can always contact us for additional photos of items in stock.
Much of this information can be found on Wikipedia as a reference.
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