Alabaster Stone Egg — Warm Golden Tone, Semi-Translucent Veining, 122g — Field Find

THE FIND
A polished alabaster stone egg, 122g — warm golden-amber with cream and brown veining and a softly luminous surface. The lighter areas of the stone have a visible semi-translucency, allowing light to pass through in a way that distinguishes this piece from denser opaque stones. Simple in form. Quietly beautiful. The kind of object that earns its place on a shelf without announcement. Photographed on a brass display stand (stand not included).

WHAT WE KNOW
Alabaster is a trade term applied to two distinct minerals: gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O, Mohs 2) and calcite (CaCO₃, Mohs 3). Gypsum alabaster is softer, semi-translucent, and takes a smooth waxy polish; calcite alabaster is harder and typically less translucent. The semi-translucent quality visible in this specimen’s lighter areas is more consistent with gypsum alabaster than with calcite or marble, which are typically fully opaque. The warm golden-amber color with irregular cream and brown veining is characteristic of naturally colored gypsum alabaster from deposits in Italy, Spain, and the Middle East, though the exact locality has not been independently verified. Because gypsum alabaster is soft (Mohs 2), it scratches easily and should be kept away from harder surfaces and direct water exposure. The exact mineral composition has not been independently laboratory verified. This specimen weighs 122g.

THE STORY
Alabaster has been carved into decorative objects for thousands of years — Egyptian canopic jars, Mesopotamian palace reliefs, Renaissance devotional objects, and Victorian decorative arts all made use of its workability and luminous surface. The semi-translucency of gypsum alabaster was valued specifically because it allowed light to pass through thin carved sections, creating a glow that opaque stone cannot produce. In egg form, that translucency becomes most visible at the thinner edges and paler areas — the stone holds light differently depending on where you look at it.

WHY WE CHOSE IT
The semi-translucency is the case for this piece — the warm golden tone combined with the light-passing quality of the paler veining areas gives it a luminous character that denser stones in the collection don’t have. At 122g it is compact and comfortable in the hand. The appeal is simplicity: a piece of stone, shaped and polished into a form that has carried symbolic meaning for centuries.

ABOUT THIS PIECE
Type: Alabaster stone egg (presented as gypsum alabaster based on visual characteristics including semi-translucency; not independently laboratory verified)
Weight: 122g
Display stand: Not included — stand shown in photographs is for display purposes only
Care: Gypsum alabaster is soft (Mohs 2) — avoid hard surfaces, scratching, and water exposure
Locality: Not independently verified
Condition: Polished carving — please review photographs for color, veining, translucency, and natural variation.
Quantity: 1 — one of a kind.