Alabaster

Ancient pharaohs prized fine objects rendered in alabaster, deeming them indispensable on earth and in the afterlife. Oriental Alabaster which is a much harder stone, similar to marble, and which today is only used for machine-made products. Egyptologists refer to "Oriental alabaster" (marble) as alabaster, and it was this material that was extensively used by the Egyptians in sarcophagi, in the linings of tombs, in the walls and ceilings of temples, and in vases and sacrificial vessels.