Pair of jugs. Volterra, late nineteenth century.

Pair of jugs. Volterra, late nineteenth century.
Alabaster.
In very good condition.
Measurements: 55 cm (height).

Pair of alabaster jugs from Volterra. The carving reproduces on the lanky body floral bouquets in relief and foliated fretwork at different levels. The neck and mouth take the form of wavy scallops. These jars are proof of the quality of alabaster craftsmanship in the Italian city of Volterra.

"Alabaster" is an Egyptian term that probably derives from the city of Alabastron, a place where in ancient times flasks and amphorae were made for the preservation of perfumes. The calcareous alabaster, the one worked in Volterra and, in particular, the one extracted from the subsoil in Castellina Marittima, was formed in the Miocene period as a result of a process of sedimentation and concentration of calcium sulfate contained in marine waters. More than two millennia have passed since the Etruscans began to work it, the art of which inspired the Italian carvers of the 18th and 19th century.