Alabaster, Limestone and Steatite

 

Alabaster

Italian Ice Alabaster in slabs and boulders $ 2.20/#

Sculptures by Terry Horner and Peter Belonci

Ice Alabaster is like frosted glass and comes from Tuscany, Italy. It is tighter than most alabasters weighing 160#/cubic foot. It comes in larger boulders and thick slabs (8-15” thick). Some are somewhat clearer but most have occasional gray or red veins. We pick out every piece from the supplier.

Limestone and Steatite

Cottonwood, Silverdale, Prairie Shell $0.60/#
Tuxedo Gray (as hard as marble) $0.75/#
Black or Green Steatite (limestone softness) $1.75/#

limestone soapstone steatite carvinglimestone soapstone steatite carvinglimestone soapstone steatite carving

Sculptures by Mark Donadio, Dan Mitchell and Kat Warwick

Limestone is “uncompressed” marble: calcium carbonate that has become sediment. It has a hardness of about 2 which varies greatly (the Tuxedo is much harder). We are in Kansas which is limestone country with Cottonwood as one of our best (shown here). We also have Silverdale (more yellow) and Indiana (gray).

Steatite is a type of soapstone with some magnesium which makes it harder, and more durable.  It is generally 2 MOH (can be 3)  which is like limestone. It takes a high polish and can be displayed outdoors.

Sculptures by Carl Berney, Tim Baker, Larry Bottomley