Alabaster is a material used in stone cutting and sculpture.
It has been used since antiquity. It came back into fashion in the 12th century and again during the Renaissance.
White and translucent when pure, alabaster is often combined with various oxides, notably iron, which gives it various colours (yellow, brown, red, orange, pink), often divided into bands.

This group in the round (relief sculpture that stands out from the background) represents the Holy Family.
On the left is Mary, in the centre the young Jesus, and on the right Joseph, recognisable by the stick in his hand.
Above, God or the representation of the future sacrificed and resurrected Jesus, as he holds a cruciferous orb symbolising Christ's spiritual dominion over the world and the earth.