Alabaster scuplture of a mother picking up her child, Eretria, C.500 BC. Alabaster is a soft white or translucent stone, and is a fine-grained marble-like variety of gypsum. The softness of alabaster enables it to be carved readily into elaborate forms making it a popular material for sculpture. Real alabaster is unique in that even at relatively large thicknesses light will still shine through it. As with these tenderly carved figurines it is often used for ornamental stonework, however, its solubility in water makes it unsuitable for outdoor work