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About Alabaster
Zuni Wolf pair by Lorindina Sheche.
The front wolf is carved in alabaster.
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A bison fetish carved in alabaster
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Bear fetish in orange calcite alabaster by Lena Boone
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A very easy material to carve, alabaster is one of the minerals Zuni artists use to create their Zuni fetish carvings. Most of the alabaster carved at Zuni Pueblo is likely from Colorado.
With a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2, gypsum alabaster is so soft that one can easily scratch it with a fingernail.
Calcite alabaster has a Mohs hardness of 3, which does not scratch easily by a fingernail but will easily give way to a knife.
With a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2, gypsum alabaster is so soft that one can easily scratch it with a fingernail.
Calcite alabaster has a Mohs hardness of 3, which does not scratch easily by a fingernail but will easily give way to a knife.