Antique Large 83cm tall Alabaster Sculpture P. Emilio Fiaschi Circa 1890 19th C

Emilio Fiaschi
was one of a group of highly skilled marble sculptors working in Florence in the late 19th and early 20th century. Concentrating on genre themes and the female nude during the Belle Époque period, the Fiaschi studio produced marble and alabaster editions with great consistency of quality for wealthy visitors and also exported to the rest of Europe and the USA. Fiaschi studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence between 1883 and 1885 and won a medal at an art competition in the town of Volterra (presumed to be his place of birth) in 1890.Alabaster - is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite also known as onyx-marble, Egyptian alabaster or Oriental alabaster.

In general, but not always, ancient Alabaster in Egypt and the Near & Middle East is calcite. Alabaster in medieval Europe is gypsum. Modern Alabaster is probably calcite, but may be either. Both are easy to 'work' and as both are slightly water soluble, have been used for making a variety of indoor artworks and carvings, as they will not survive long outdoors.

The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as an ornamental stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases and halls. Alabaster is also used widely by the sculptors.

In Europe, the centre of the alabaster trade is Florence, Italy.