Alabaster, a fine-grained, soft form of gypsum. It occurs in various colors, as red, yellow, and gray; but the traditional alabaster is snowy white. When first quarried it is so soft that it may be cut with a knife or shaped on a lathe, but on exposure to the air it hardens, until it is like marble. It has long been used for artistic purposes. Priceless alabaster vases, statues, ointment boxes, and even columns, remnants of the days of Roman splendor, are still to be found in art museums. Alabaster cement was used by artists to close the joints in marble work and in making casts. Egypt was celebrated for alabaster; the swathed remains of the wealthy Egyptians were laid away not infrequently in a sarcophagus of this material. Sir John Sloane of London paid $10,000 for a fine specimen covered with hieroglyphics. Alabaster quarries are found in many parts of Europe. The alabaster of Florence, Italy, long the art center of the world, is especially pure in color and fine of grain. Oriental alabaster is a stone found in caverns, and is formed chiefly of lime, like the stalagmites and stalactites of Mammoth Cave. It is a translucent stone, somewhat like onyx, and of a milky white or yellowish color.